Following on the heels of the now infamous Swedish Pirate Party – a political group that holds a seat in parliament and lobbies for file-sharing rights – recognition has now been given to a new religion. This is the Missionary Church of Kopimism, which holds Control-C and Control-V as their sacred symbols.

Founded in 2010, the church marks its recognition as an official religion as a landmark step. The church’s goals are to provide a body for “Kopimists” and to fight against their “religious persecution.” The founder of the church, philosophy student Isak Gerson, said the following about their new status as a religion:

I think that more people will have the courage to step out as Kopimists. Maybe not in the public, but at least to their close ones. There’s still a legal stigma around copying for many. A lot of people still worry about going to jail when copying and remixing. I hope in the name of Kopimi that this will change.

Although the formal status of the Church doesn’t mean that copyright infringement is now permitted, the Church’s founder hopes that their beliefs will be considered in future lawmaking.

From their website (in Swedish, thanks Google Translate):

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.

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.

During the last half year the Missionary Church of Kopimism tripled its members from 1 000 to 3 000 and it’s expected that the recent news will cause another surge in followers. Official member or not, Gerson encourages everyone with an Internet connection to keep on sharing.

[Source: Gizmodo]