You can put the colanders away. Inmates in Nebraska can't sue over their belief in the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Stephen Cavanaugh sued the state's Department of Correctional Services and prison officials in 2014 claiming that he was mocked and discriminated against for his faith in the strange divinity, The Associated Press reported.
Cavanaugh sued for $5 million and an order mandating that inmates who also pray to the Spaghetti Monster receive the same rights as other religions.
U.S. District Judge John Gerrard dismissed the suit Tuesday, saying that "FSMism" isn't a religion outlined by federal law, the AP reported.
Instead Gerrard said it is "a parody intended to advance an argument about science, the evolution of life and the place of religion in public education."
Gerrard added that Cavanaugh didn't support his claims that he was prevented from practicing his "religion."
This is not the only time members of the so-called church have gone to court to fight for their "religious" rights.
Other members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster have fought to wear colanders on their heads for their driver's license photos.
A Massachusetts woman said she is a pastafarian and was denied her license because she wanted to wear the strainer as a hat for her license photo.
She had been granted an exemption prior to a requested hearing, The Huffington Post reported.
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