My son goes to a Universalist Unitarian church for purposes of comparative religion learning. Amongst the other major faiths (they've been to a Hindu temple, a Buddhist temple, a mosque, a synagogue, and various Christian venues), the kids had a full class on Pastafarianism as well.

I'd say if it's taught in a church, it's valid. Who's to say it's any more or less valid than a religion based on alien souls in a volcano, for example, regardless of its origins? These sorts of things have a way of taking on a life of their own when the naive or ignorant stumble across the Holy Writ online.