Filesharing is a religion in Sweden

A CHURCH DEVOTED to filesharing has won official recognition in Sweden.

The church, called the Church of Kopimism has some rather interesting beliefs, and while its legitimacy has been denied several times, it finally won official recognition this week.

At its heart is the belief that people should have the right to share and that people whose work is shared should be glad about that.

"The missionary kopimistsamfundet is a religious group centered in Sweden who believe that copying and the sharing of information is the best and most beautiful that is," says the information on its web site, which is presently unavailable due to overwhelming traffic load.

"Throughout history, various groups around the world have been persecuted by oppressors. It has since taken refuge in religion and wanted a peaceful coexistence. Without threats and harassment.In our belief, communication is sacred. Communication needs to be respected. It is a direct sin to monitor and eavesdrop on people.The absolute secrecy is holy in the church of kopimism."

The fact that the religion is officially recognised does not mean that its members can lawfully download and share material without inspection by ISPs and such, but it does show some progress in attitudes around filesharing, at least according to the chap behind it.

"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," said philosophy student and church founder Isak Gerson in an interview with TorrentFreak.

"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." µ