(Image Source: The Washington Post)

BY: CHELSEA MCGARTLAND

An Austrian man has won the right to wear a pasta strainer on his head as a form of religious headgear. But is this a victory for religious expression or an elaborate publicity stunt for secularism? Euronews explains this very bizarre story:

“In Austria, an atheist has been allowed to appear in the photo on his driving license wearing a pasta strainer on his head. Nico Alm applied for the license three years ago. He donned the sieve in a response to the recognition of confessional headgear in official photographs.”

Alm is a member of the very real -- Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

It’s a satirical religion created in 2005. He applied for the license to draw attention to a rule exempting religious groups from removing their head coverings. But the Austrian police insist this was never ABOUT religion.

The BBC quotes a police spokesman.

“‘The photo was not approved on religious grounds. The only criterion for photos in driving licence applications is that the whole face must be visible … the licence has been ready since October 2009 -- it was not collected, that’s all there is to it.’”

But atheist blogger PZ Myers points out -- if Alm’s religious protest wasn’t a factor, why did the police make him take this next unusual extra step?

“The only thing that wasn’t fairly done here is that the authorities required that he submit to a psychological evaluation to determine if he was sane enough to drive. Do they do that to every person who insists on wearing a yamulke or turban or hijab or pope hat or squid on their head?”

This victory isn’t enough for Alm. A blogger for the Washington Post says this isn’t the end of the push for Pastafarian equality.

“Alm now wants to apply for Pastafarianism to become an officially recognized faith in Austria. A Pastafarian “Headgear Day International” has been declared for Oct. 12.’”

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has a website, where its only comment reads: “Congratulations!”

Transcript by Newsy.