Texas Tech student allowed to wear pasta strainer in official photo

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LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) –

After months of research and countless calls to state and local authorities, Eddie Castillo finally got approval to wear a pasta strainer on his head in his official ID photo.

It sounds like a joke, but it’s actually a political statement from a group of atheists who “worship” the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The group members, who call themselves “pastafarians,” were inspired by a satirical letter written in 2005 to protest the Kansas School Board teaching intelligent design.

Castillo, a Texas Tech student, is the first person in the country allowed to wear this kind of religious headgear in a legal identification photo.

A New Jersey man who tried it in February 2013 was denied. An Austrian man was allowed to wear the pasta strainer in an official photo in 2008, but was required to undergo a medical interview to check his “mental fitness to drive.”

“You might think this is some sort of a gag or prank by a college student, but thousands, including myself, see it as a political and religious milestone for all atheists everywhere,” Castillo said.

Castillo’s church is using humor to bring attention to some very serious issues, namely, how different levels of government interpret the separation of church and state.

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