religious license plates in Florida at Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

The picture above is a specialty plate being considered in Florida. It would be the first specialty plate in the US to promote a specific religion.

I think it’s fine, so long as other religions are allowed specialty plates, too. I can’t imagine their argument against allowing that, but you know they’ve got one already. Something like “Christian plates are OK because Christianity is the correct religion.”

No surprise, the ACLU’s on top of it:

The problem with the state manufacturing the plate is that it “sends a message that Florida is essentially a Christian state” and, second, gives the “appearance that the state is endorsing a particular religious preference,” said Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

Florida Rep. Kelly Skidmore has some common sense:

“It’s not a road I want to go down. I don’t want to see the Star of David next. I don’t want to see a Torah next. None of [those other religions that I am not a part of] are appropriate to me,” said Skidmore, a Democrat who voted against the plate in committee. “I just believe that.”

Fair warning, Florida: If your Christian plate is approved, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster WILL seek our own plate promoting Pastafarianism.

Pastafarians, let’s start designing the plate now. Please send me your submissions!

Pastafarian Mike’s design:

Pastafarian DeeLawn’s design:

Pastafarian Kevin’s designs:

Purchase the Gospel

An elaborate spoof on Intelligent Design, The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is neither too elaborate nor too spoofy to succeed in nailing the fallacies of ID. It's even wackier than Jonathan Swift's suggestion that the Irish eat their children as a way to keep them from being a burden, and it may offend just as many people, but Henderson, described elsewhere as a 25-year-old "out-of-work physics major," puts satire to the same serious use that Swift did. Oh, yes, it is very funny. -- Scientific American

41 Responses to “religious license plates in Florida”

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41 Franko May 6th, 2008 at 9:04 pm

I’ll contribute to apply for an FSM plate in FL, and I don’t even live there anymore. Must get my siblings to send me the Letters-to-the-Editor from down there, they’ve got to be hilarious. An FSM plate was the first thing I thought of when I heard about this. It’s also way past time I joined and supported the ACLU. Even when they defend people I don’t like, they’re a useful institution.