Bobby Henderson (activist)

Bobby Henderson
Born	(1980-07-18) July 18, 1980 (age 44)[1] Oregon, United States
Alma mater	Oregon State University
Known for	Founder of Pastafarianism

Bobby Henderson is an American college graduate, known for being the founder of Pastafarianism.

Early life and education

Henderson was born in 1980 in Roseburg, Oregon.[2] He studied physics at Oregon State University.[3]

Pastafarianism

Main article: Flying Spaghetti Monster

In 2005, Henderson founded the religion of Pastafarianism in response to the Kansas State Board of Education's decision to teach intelligent design alongside evolution in schools.[4] He requested that "Pastafarianism" be taught alongside intelligent design and "logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence".[5] After his protest letter to the board was ignored, he posted it online and the beliefs quickly gained traction.[3]

In 2006, he wrote The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster,[6] a book detailing the core beliefs of the religion.[7]

In 2019 Henderson repeated his belief that religion should be kept out of government schools and money kept out of religion.[3]

References

1. "Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster". Facebook. July 18, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
2. "About « Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster". Archived from the original on January 13, 2020.
3. Timms, Peter (May 17, 2019). "Pasta strainers and pirates: how the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was born". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 16, 2019.
4. Natanson, Hannah (September 20, 2019). "A Pastafarian opened a council meeting wearing a spaghetti strainer. He says it's about separation of church and state". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 21, 2019.
5. Millhiser, Ian (September 22, 2019). "A Pastafarian hilariously trolled a town council meeting. The stakes are profoundly serious". Vox. Archived from the original on December 16, 2019.
6. Slisco, Aila (September 19, 2019). "Pastor from the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster led "Pastafarian prayers" at a government meeting in Alaska". Newsweek. Archived from the original on February 4, 2020.
7. Henley, Jon (August 16, 2018). "Spaghetti injunction: Pastafarianism is not a religion, Dutch court rules". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 19, 2019.