When I first saw this I thought it was a joke and that maybe I have had too many cold meds in too short a time period. However it looks like the newly founded religion ‘Kopimism’ is real and its central tenet; the right to file-share has been formally recognised by the Swedish government. The Church of Kopimism claims that “kopyacting” – sharing information through copying – is akin to a religious service.
This is quite interesting and funny at the same time. Most governments in the world allow religious freedom so if that same right is given to Kopimism, then the war on piracy would grind to an abrupt halt because continuing would open a large can of worms.
The Swedish government agency Kammarkollegiet finally registered the Church of Kopimism as a religious organisation shortly before Christmas, the group said.
“We had to apply three times,” said Gustav Nipe, chairman of the organisation.
The church, which holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V (shortcuts for copy and paste) as sacred symbols, does not directly promote illegal file sharing, focusing instead on the open distribution of knowledge to all.
It was founded by 19-year-old philosophy student and leader Isak Gerson. He hopes that file-sharing will now be given religious protection.
“For the Church of Kopimism, information is holy and copying is a sacrament. Information holds a value, in itself and in what it contains and the value multiplies through copying. Therefore copying is central for the organisation and its members,” he said in a statement.
Before you get all offended and upset, remember we already have a church of the flying spaghetti monster.
Thanks to BBC News for the initial news. If you want to learn more visit Kopimism’s Official website.
– Suramya
Sharing Knowledge is already a religious service in Hinduism, Buddhism, etc: It is called Vidya Daan!
Comment by Neel Gupta — January 23, 2012 @ 6:58 PM
True, but this religion is specifically based around sharing files using your computer so its completely different than just sharing knowledge.
– Suramya
Comment by Suramya — January 27, 2012 @ 6:50 AM