An interesting and wholly (holy) modern religious group has emerged from the frozen, progressive landscape of Sweden.
Isak Gerson is adamant that the church doesn't promote illegal file sharing, but rather the 'open distribution of information.'
It seems that the nation that gave the world Pirate Bay, Spotify and Skype are adding a new addition to the table. The BBC reports that the Church of Kopimism has been formally recognized by the state. This is a new ‘faith’ founded by a 19-year old philosophy student, and one of the main tenets is that file sharing is considered a sacrament. Yes, you thought this kind of thing only happened in America.
As a current resident of Stockholm, I must admit that this shines an increasingly suspect light on where my taxes are going. Nonetheless, Isak Gerson, the founder of the ‘church’, had this to say in a statement, “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.” Try telling that to the world’s anti-piracy groups.
Gerson is adamant that the church doesn’t promote illegal file sharing, but rather the ‘open distribution of information.’ So, could one assume that this is just a celebration, an homage to Elmer Shapiro (one of the founding fathers of the Internet, as we know it today), Wikipedia et al? Perhaps. But one has to wonder at the validity of the Swedish government, if they grant a formal recognition to an organization that holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V as sacred symbols (it’s true, they do). What are they spending their time doing, and how much does it cost citizens to formalize the ridiculous whim of a college student? I want my money back.
