Sweden Recognizes File-Sharing as an Official Religion

The Church of Kopimism, whose central tenet is the right to file-share received official recognition in Sweden as a religious organization.

Missionary Church of Kopimism, which was founded in 2010 by philosophy student Isak Gerson has Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V (the keyboard shortcuts for copy and paste) as its sacred symbols. Kopimi is the Swedish word meaning Copy Me and the religion has attracted more than 3000 followers since then. The Swedish governmental agency Kammarkollegiet registered the Church of Kopimism as a religious organisation just before Christmas, the church said in a press release in its website. The church received official recognition after two failed attempts, where the group was asked to formalize its way of praying. Isak Gerson, spiritual leader of the Church of Kopimism hoped that the official recognition will motivate more people to come forward as ‘Kopimists’. He said:

Being recognized by the state of Sweden is a large step for all of kopimi. Hopefully, this is one step towards the day when we can live out our faith without fear of persecution. We confessional Kopimists have not only depended on each other in this struggle, but on everyone who is copying information. To everyone with an internet connection: Keep copying. Maintain hardline Kopimi. Information holds a value, in itself and in what it contains, and the value multiplies through copying. Therefore, copying is central for the organization and its members.

Since the announcement , the Church of Kopimism’s Web site was down due to a huge surge in traffic. A statement posted in the site requested those interested in joining the religion to come back in a few of days once the storm has settled.