According to a district court judge, a federal prison inmate’s avowed religion is too silly to be protected or accommodated. In fact, the judge decided, it’s not a religion at all. Does that make you angry? It should.

Does the fact that the Nebraska inmate is a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster change your feelings? It shouldn’t.

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Is Pastafarianism any less credible than other religions of the world? Consider the thoughts of Andrea Jonathan Robert, as offered in a post on the website Patheos, responding to the Charlie Hebdo terror attack in Paris:

So in truth, as Pastafarians while our religious beliefs are sincerely held, our actions can be satirical in the effort to prove a larger point. Our religion is not a parody of other faiths. However, we’re not above using satire to point out how nonsensical other religions can be at times. Satire is intended to do more than just entertain; it tries to improve humanity and its institutions. One would think this is a worthy goal of any religion.