Quite a few years ago, as I began to stumble around the Internet, I became fascinated by Internet memes. They are ubiquitous - someone posts something somewhere, someone else finds it funny and BAM, it is everywhere. It’s basically an inside joke that is shared by everyone on the Internet. From Rick Rolling to lolcat speak, from webcomics like xkcd to news commentary sites like Fark - there is a lot of stuff out there and a lot of it is funny. Fads come and go, references may get increasingly obscure but, on the Internet, there is always someone who will understand and find it funny.
I am a huge fan of satire. Nothing is funnier than intelligent humour that manages to reveal some basic truths about something else. And sometimes, humour is the best way to get an idea across. You might forget ideas of high philosophy or get confused by Russell or Dawkins - but it’s harder to forget the image of a giant ball of spaghetti and meatballs with googly eyes.
I think atheists online can be particularly good at satire. I don’t know how good we are at laughing at ourselves (which is something we do need to work on) but we are damn good at poking fun at religion. Some of it is even constructive.
For example, I love the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was originally created as a reaction against the Kansas State Board of Education’s appalling decision to allow the teaching of Intelligent Design alongside with biological evolution in science class. Now, I’m sure most people know that the ID movement is a very thinly veiled attempt to get religion into science, without worrying about the whole science bit. They often claim it isn’t religious because they don’t specify a particular diety but instead talk about an “Intelligent Designer”, apparently assuming that for some reason scientists just don’t like specific deities replacing science, as opposed to vague, undefined ones. While a large amount of people (and very rightly so) loudly complained about this ridiculous decision, Bobby Henderson took a difference approach. He wrote an open lettre to the school board, congratulating them on their openness and using their own ideas against them to promote the existence of a Flying Spaghetti Monster. Using all the basic tenants of the ID movement, he laid out a new religion, involving pirates, pasta and warm beer. Frankly, it was hilarious. And it quickly became very popular online as more and more people proudly labeled themselves as devout Pastafarians.
Another popular one, which predates the FSM, is the Invisible Pink Unicorn. This one pokes fun at theistic beliefs in general and the inconsistencies inherent within them. As quoted by Steve Eley on alt.atheism:
“Invisible Pink Unicorns are beings of great spiritual power. We know this because they are capable of being invisible and pink at the same time. Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can’t see them.”
There are lots of other examples, usually using an absolutely ridiculous concept to point out just how ridiculous a lot of ideas that people take for granted really are.
I love them. I frequent many of the sites, quote them on a daily basis, bought t-shirts with their images depicted on them. I like to read new “theories” about them and laugh at the silliness of humanity, both in terms of the people who write the parodies and the ideas that are being mocked.
Still, I haven’t really decided how much good they actually do. I think that sometimes they can be great vehicles to help people step back and see the basic ideas of a concept instead of the equally silly ideas that have been normalized by our constant exposure to them. Sometimes, that is useful. The parodies also help dispell the sacredness of religion. I don’t mind people having beliefs that I don’t share but nothing should be beyond questioning and everything should be a topic of potential discussion. “It’s my religion” should be a launching point of a discussion, not a way to effectively end it.
And no, the parody religions will not miraculously make someone an atheist. People don’t want to be told that their ideas are stupid, they are not likely to have an epiphany as they are being mocked. But maybe that isn’t the point.
I think these parody religions often just make atheists happier about being atheists. And I don’t see anything wrong with that. They help create online communities for atheists, where there might not be anything available in real life. It unites atheists on a common theme, albeit at the expense of others. We can be united in our non-belief and have some fun while we are at it. It gives the atheist community media exposure that revolves around us being snarky instead of angry. It’s a vehicle for creativity instead of merely being derisive. And it makes people smile.
So I will continue to be touched by the Noodly Master and keep an eye out for the Invisible Pink Unicorn. It’s good to have something to laugh at.
