When Census night 2021 rolled around, Pirate Priestess Angela Carter and her husband Captain Colin “Cupcakes” Carter followed an instruction from their leader and selected the “no religion” option where the nationwide survey asked respondents about their religious affiliations.
Yet the Carters are actually among a growing number of Australians who consider themselves to be Pastafarians, or members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
They are also ministers and owners of the only recognised church of their faith in the country, but they checked the “no religion” box because they didn’t want to be counted as Christians in the census.
Their faith has been seen by some as a satire mocking other religions, but members of the largely online community say it espouses values of respect and common decency.
While the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has varying degrees of acknowledgement in some countries, it is not recognised in Australia.
Nevertheless, its devotees are among a growing contingent of people turning their backs on more traditional religions, according to the latest census data.
And the survey says…
The 2021 Census is the first census to show fewer than half of Australians identify as Christian.
Meanwhile people ticking the “no religion” box has risen to 38.9 per cent, up from 30.1 per cent in 2016.
Trying to determine the number of Pastafarians in Australia is impossible due to their status not being recognised by the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ census, however Ms Carter estimates there “must be a few thousand in the country now”.
She said she and her fellow Pastafarians took leadership advice from South Australian-based “Captain'” Tanya Watkins regarding the census.
“We all agreed that we would put ‘no religion’ because when you put Pastafarian … that actually gets marked up as Christian,” she claimed.
“So we took the view in this census that we would put ‘no religion’ until we’re recognised officially.”
The ABS did not respond to questions about how Pastafarians had been counted in the past.
What is the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster?
Pastafarianism began as a satirical open letter written in 2005 by physics graduate Bobby Henderson to challenge creationism and the unscientific notion of “intelligent design”, which the Kansas State Board of Education was considering teaching as an alternative to evolution.
He argued that his belief about the universe being created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster was just as valid as “intelligent design”, and deserved as much time in classrooms as creationism.
Live updates: Follow our blog for the latest 2021 Census results
Mr Henderson’s letter lit up the internet, sparked a bidding war among book publishers and inadvertently created something that was either a satire of mainstream faith, a light-hearted but legitimate religion, or an important social movement, depending on your point of view.
The tenets of the religion included not discriminating against anyone, rejecting dogma and a veneration of pirates, among other things.
Fun and frivolity
The Carters joined Pastafarianism in 2011, and were believed to have taken part in the first Pastafarian wedding in Australia in 2013.
Ms Carter said the religion was about being nice and having fun.
“It’s something that has elements of frivolity and humour and doesn’t take anything too seriously,” she said.
“There’s too much in the world that creates hostility between people.
“All of those values are the values I’ve always held and if you can mix your religion with fun and frivolity and rum and dressing like pirates, then even better.”
The Carters were both ordained ministers of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster — a process that involved ordering an “ordination pack” from Mr Henderson, who signed it himself.
The Blue Church at the crossroads
Sometime between joining the religion and getting married, the Carters bought what was known as The Blue Church, on the Princes Highway, west of Colac in south-west Victoria.
The church, which was built in 1911, was at some point painted blue, making it a local landmark and a handy reference point for tourists heading to the Great Ocean Road.
Originally a Presbyterian church, it eventually closed due to a falling population in the area and was passed into private hands in 1998.
The Carters bought it in 2012 and renovated it into both a home and the world’s first official church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Pastafarians don’t have church services of any kind, but the Blue Church has become a tourist attraction.
“It was very clearly a calling for us.
“People have always stopped to take photos at the church, even before the Flying Spaghetti Monster signs went up, but once the sign went up outside, people tell me that’s what makes them stop.
“They’re mostly wanting a photo, properly adorned with a pirate hat.
“We [preside over them] if they don’t require a formal celebrant — Australia will not recognise our religion at the moment, so even though we’re both ministers of the Order, we’re not legally able to marry people.”
You gotta have faith
Getting Australian authorities to recognise Pastafarianism as a religion might still be a big challenge.
When Captain Tanya Watkins attempted to set up a not-for-profit incorporated organisation in the name of the church in order to engage in charity events, she was rebuked by the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which labelled the religion “a hoax”.
Despite this, the church was growing, the Carters said.
“I think it’s grown because of the move away from other religions,” Ms Carter said.
“I think other religions aren’t meeting what people need [and they’re] seeing this religion as something that’s much easier to live with, and has good values with no discrimination and no financial requirements.
“I think it will be the battle of those who wear colanders on their heads and those of us who will only allow a tricorn.”
Her husband said the religion wasn’t meant to be taken seriously.
“If we actually got official recognition as a religion, the danger then is we get tangled up and seen in the same [light] as all the others,” Mr Carter said.
“[Pastafarianism] doesn’t have the dogma and embellishments and controversy of every other religious movement that has, at some point or another, killed each other or been reliant on a megalomaniac taking a hold and spreading its virtues, so to speak.”
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