Seems to me that it's often necessary to offend others so as to not offend Christians ~ exactly how does that "... achieve an inclusive and supportive environment for all of our students”? ~ ~ Sooz

University tears down ‘Flying Spaghetti Monster’ posters for offending Christians
By David Edwards
Tuesday, February 11, 2014 11:51 EST

A university in Britain has been accused of violating the free speech rights of a group of atheists after the school banned satirical posters of the fictional “Flying Spaghetti Monster” because it could offend Christians.

The Independent reported on Tuesday that non-religious students in the South Bank Atheist Society had put up the posters in their stall at London South Bank University’s freshers’ fair last week. The poster depicted Michelangelo’s famous “Creation of Adam” fresco, except the image of God was replaced with the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster is the fake God of a group who call themselves “pastafarians,” a name coined by atheists protesting the Kansas School Board’s decision to teach intelligent design in 2005.

When members of the South Bank Atheist Society returned to their stall, they were told that the posters had been removed because of “Adam’s genitals.” After the students offered to blur out the offending parts of the image, student union officials admitted that the poster had been banned for being “religiously offensive.”

“This incident is just one of a catalogue of attempts to censor our society,” South Bank Atheist Society President Choe Ansari told The Independent. “I never expected to face such blatant censorship and fragile sensibilities at university, I thought this would be an institution where I could challenge beliefs and in turn be challenged.”

A university spokesperson insisted to the paper that the school worked “to achieve an inclusive and supportive environment for all of our students.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/11/university-tears-down-flying-spaghetti-monster-posters-for-offending-christians/

If Christian expressions of faith were permitted it's censorship.

When I first heard of this ‘Flying Spaghetti Monster’ stuff, I laughed and thought it was great. But now I'm beginning to wonder if it makes us non-believers look like annoying a-holes, just like some of the religious that we complain about.

I doubt it will accomplish anything. It's certainly not going to get religious people to think differently about their beliefs. If anything, it will make them defend their beliefs even more.

The goal should be to get people thinking. One doesn't accomplish that by mocking them.

How any of this applies to this story I really don't know, but with all the problems in the world it seems ridiculous to me that we should have to deal with free speech complaints regarding something that people don't truly believe.

Having said that, the fact that someone would complain about these posters just shows how intolerant they are.

i am trying to figure out what the FSM folks did wrong here.

that image is very old in the FSM canon. i saw it at least three years ago. it is hilarious.

what we are dealing with is the failure of orthodoxy to develop a sense of humor.

I'm not sure you have the right to free speech on the university's property, unless it is a public university. Even if it is a public university, I think they can set limits on free speech. Yes it is censorship, but perfectly legal. So is the lie being told by the university spokesperson about trying to achieve an inclusive and supportive environment.

I just don't see this accomplishing anything.

If the goal is to get religious people thinking, to reject creationism, and to be more accepting of the non-religious, this will probably do the opposite.

That is my goal - maybe it isn't theirs.

May the linguini go with you.

If the goal is to get religious people thinking, to reject creationism, and to be more accepting of the non-religious, this will probably do the opposite.

The goal is not to get anyone to reject anything, as far as I know. It's about equal treatment under the law. Equal treatment in the public square. If "christians" can put their beliefs on display and insert them wherever and whenever they want into MY life, so can every other belief system.

If that bothers "non-Pastafarians", it SHOULD.

I would have to agree with Chaos on this.

If I want to display my religious or non-religious views I should be allowed to do that in any place that other's are allowed to display theirs.

OK, so let's talk about 'equal treatment'.

Do you really think making up an imaginary belief system will accomplish that? Do you think it would have worked if MLK had called for creating "Blacks Only" lunch counters and buses where whites had to sit in the back?

I don't want Christians or anyone else to put their religious symbols in public places.

What the 'Pastafarians' are saying is that if Christians are going to do something wrong then we want the right to do something wrong too.

I don't agree with that line of reasoning.

the goal has nothing to do with religious people, imo. if you take the reason that this whole movement came into existence (i am going to call it a movement even though it is satirical, ok?) was to point out that rights asserted by one religion made it possible for any and all religions to assert the same right. that means that if it is OK for creationists to insist on their story being told on religious grounds, then it is OK for Islam to assert the same. the reason that this argument is important should be obvious. it is not to mock or browbeat Christianity. it is to assert the importance of maintaining a secular standard in public institutions. in other words, the proximate target for the FSM is not fundamentalists. in fact, the Church of the FSM has gone out of their way to point out that they are "brothers" in the same cause as other religions. the proximate target is legislators who seem incapable of grasping the implications of their legislation, or are too biased to see it as a problem.

that isn't their line of reasoning. their line of reasoning is that IF Christians have the right to do what they do, THEN other religions do too, and they are absolutely correct. the whole idea is to assert the importance of the separation of Church and state by presenting a religious case which they don't condone. it is actually brilliant satire, and it has already worked at least once (see Kansas School Board if you don't know the story).

Maybe the overall result of all this will be something positive. Perhaps it will bring about changes that many of us seek. I don't know, but I have my doubts.

I'll have to read more of the details of what happened in Kansas. If you can point me to something that shows it worked I'd appreciate it, Macro. So far I haven't found anything that proves that.

Generally, in order to effect change one has to go for the extreme in order to attain the fair and reasonable.

You mean like blowing up buildings?

exhibit "B", from Wikipedia:

Use in religious disputes

Due to its popularity and media exposure, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is often used as a modern version of Russell's teapot.[77][78] Proponents argue that, since the existence of the invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster—similar to other proposed supernatural beings—cannot be falsified, it demonstrates that the burden of proof rests on those who affirm the existence of such beings. Richard Dawkins explains, "The onus is on somebody who says, I want to believe in God, Flying Spaghetti Monster, fairies, or whatever it is. It is not up to us to disprove it."[77] Furthermore, according to Lance Gharavi, an editor of The Journal of Religion and Theater, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is "ultimately...an argument about the arbitrariness of holding any one view of creation", since any one view is equally as plausible as the Flying Spaghetti Monster.[5] A similar argument was discussed in the books The God Delusion and The Atheist Delusion.[79][80]

In December 2007, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was credited with spearheading successful efforts in Polk County, Florida, to dissuade the Polk County School Board from adopting new science standards on evolution. The issue was raised after five of the seven board members declared a personal belief in intelligent design. Opponents describing themselves as Pastafarians e-mailed members of the Polk County School Board demanding equal instruction time for the Flying Spaghetti Monster.[81] Board member Margaret Lofton, who supported intelligent design, dismissed the e-mail as ridiculous and insulting, stating, "they've made us the laughing stock of the world". Lofton later stated that she had no interest in engaging with the Pastafarians or anyone else seeking to discredit intelligent design. As the controversy developed, scientists expressed opposition to intelligent design. In response to hopes for a new "applied science" campus at the University of South Florida in Lakeland, university vice president Marshall Goodman expressed surprise, stating, "[intelligent design is] not science. You can't even call it pseudo-science." While unhappy with the outcome, Lofton chose not to resign over the issue. She and the other board members expressed a desire to return to the day-to-day work of running the school district.[10]
A man dressed in pirate regalia standing next to a person costumed as the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
A Pastafarian dressed in pirate regalia

In March 2007, Bryan Killian, a high school student in Buncombe County, North Carolina, was suspended for wearing "pirate regalia" which he said was part of his Pastafarian faith. Killian protested the suspension, saying it violated his first amendment rights to religious freedom and freedom of expression.[82] "If this is what I believe in, no matter how stupid it might sound, I should be able to express myself however I want to", he said.[16] However, the school denied that Killian's faith played a role in his suspension, instead citing classroom disruption and insubordination as causes.[83]

In March 2008, Pastafarians in Crossville, Tennessee, were permitted to place a Flying Spaghetti Monster statue in a free speech zone on the Courthouse lawn, and proceeded to do so.[84] The display gained national interest on blogs and online news sites and was even covered by Rolling Stone magazine. It was later removed from the premises, along with all the other long-term statues, as a result of the controversy over the statue.[85]

On September 21, 2012, Pastafarian Giorgos Loizos was arrested in Greece on charges of malicious blasphemy and offense of religion for the creation of a satirical Facebook page called "Elder Pastitsios", based on a well-known deceased Greek Orthodox monk, Elder Paisios, where his name and face were substituted with pastitsio – a local pasta and béchamel sauce dish. The case, which started as a Facebook flame, reached the Greek Parliament and created a strong political reaction to the arrest.[86][87][88][89][90][91]

In 2012, Tracy McPherson of the Pennsylvanian Pastafarians petitioned the Chester County, Pennsylvania Commissioners to allow representation of the FSM at the county courthouse, equally with a Jewish menorah and a Christian nativity scene. One commissioner stated that either all religions should be allowed or no religion should be represented, but without support from the other commissioners the motion was rejected. Another commissioner stated that this petition garnered more attention than any he had seen before.[92][93]

In August 2013 Christian Orthodox religious activists attacked a peaceful rally that Russian Pastafarians organised knocking people at the rally to the ground, police arrested and charged some participants. "We were detained for simply walking, in particular, I was taken in for a sieve on my head." [94] [95]

In February 2014 Union officials at London South Bank University forbade an atheist group to display posters of the Flying Spaghetti Monster at a freshers conference and later banned the group from the conference. [96] Atheist society president, Cloe Ansari, said, "All I have seen is religious sensibilities trumping all other rights with no space for argument, challenge or reasoned debate. It is not what I expected when I came to university." [97] Later still the Students' Union apologised unreservedly. [98]

exhibit "A":

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/2 ... hool-board

Thanks for that, Macro.

Although not all of those incidents seem to have resulted in much change, perhaps this is having more of a positive influence than I realized.

Exhibit "C":

http://www.venganza.org/about/open-letter/

this is what started it all. it went viral. i think what separates this guy from the crowd is his tone, which has not a trace of mockery in it. it is perfect satire.

I didn't say being destructive. However, blowing up some of those USian torture centres might not have been a bad idea, eh?

rAmen....

making up an imaginary belief system

And how is that different from every other "recognized" religion John?

Excellent point.

Zeus and Thor need some better PR.

Well, if you are ever driving through Crete (I think between Rethimnon and Heraklion) there's a sign pointing off into the mountains which says "To the grave of Zeus, the immortal God". Now THAT'S a "God".