In the letter, Henderson demanded equal time in science classrooms for 'Flying Spaghetti Monsterism', alongside intelligent design and evolution. The 'Flying Spaghetti Monster' was first described in a satirical open letter written by Bobby Henderson in 2005 to protest the Kansas State Board of Education decision to permit teaching intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in public school science classes.

It has received some limited recognition as such. According to adherents, Pastafarianism (a portmanteau of pasta and Rastafarianism) is a 'real, legitimate religion, as much as any other'. The Flying Spaghetti Monster ( FSM) is the deity of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or Pastafarianism, a social movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion and originated in opposition to the teaching of intelligent design in public schools. The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, The Loose Canon, the Holy Book of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Touched by His Noodly Appendage, a parody of Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam, is an iconic image of the Flying Spaghetti Monster by Arne Niklas Jansson.

Pastafarian bible