The Flying Spaghetti Monster made the agenda of the American Academy of Religion’s annual meeting this weekend. See article below for details and some good commentary:

Pasta monster gets academic attention

“Indeed, the tale of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and its followers cuts to the heart of the one of the thorniest questions in religious studies: What defines a religion? Does it require a genuine theological belief? Or simply a set of rituals and a community joining together as a way of signaling their cultural alliances to others?

In short, is an anti-religion like Flying Spaghetti Monsterism actually a religion? “