Because the nature of religion is supernatural and therefore beyond the natural world, there is no scientific evidence, so you can’t require experts to agree or provide scientifically meaningful proof. If that were the standard there would be no religious accommodations. **The standard is basically whatever the individual believes, as long as the belief is “understandable to same-culture peers” according to the DSM (American Psychological Association). That basically means that the person’s belief has to be held by other people around them, and not only them to be considered a religious belief. **I am confident that this woman will have no difficulty meeting that test.
So by that logic, should Pastafarian students also be able to wear colander hats while in uniform at the Citadel? Technically, it is a belief “understandable to same-culture peers”.
http://www.rawstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/A-Pastafarian-in-Italy-shows-the-Sacred-Icon-of-the-Flying-Spaghetti-Monster-Giovanni-DallOrto-800x430.jpg
And look! They even allow people to wear them in their driver’s license photos…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pastafarian-colander-license-photo_us_56498e42e4b08cda34897b27
