‘Pastafarian’ Allowed to Wear Strainer for ID in Austria

Wearing a pasta strainer on his head, Niko Alm sought to test an Austrian law that claims head coverings are only allowed in official documents for religious reasons.

The self-proclaimed atheist applied for a new driver's license wearing the strainer as religious headgear, claiming to be a pastafarian.

For those who are less informed on obscure religions, let me fill you in.

Pastafarian is the name adopted by individuals who consider themselves members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The faith, based in satire, promotes a message that the only dogma allowed in the Church of Flying Spaghetti Monster is the rejection of dogma. Members believe in the existence of a flying omnipotent Speghetti Monster.

The organization popped up back in 2005 as a reaction to a Kansas State Board of Education decision to allow the instruction of intelligent design in public schools as an alternative to evolution.

After a three year process, the world's most famous Pastafarian, Niko Alm, said Thursday that he's now received his new license.

Police were not so amused, suggesting that religion was never an issue in Alm's case, and that he succeeded only because he fulfilled the criteria of leaving his face fully visible in the photo.

His next goal, Alm told Austrian agency APA, is to apply for Pastafarianism to become an officially recognized religion in the Republic of Austria.