I'm A Convert!!!

The missionary church of kopimism (Source)

The swedish Constitution Act, Chapter 2. § 1 states that every citizen is against the government guaranteed freedom of religion: freedom, either alone or with others to practice their religion.”

A religion is a belief system with rituals.
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. To have your information copied is a token of appreciation, that someone think you have done something good.

* All knowledge to all
* The search for knowledge is sacred
* The circulation of knowledge is sacred
* The act of copying is sacred.

All people should have access to all information produced. A gigantic Boosting Knowledge for humanity.

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.

In the individual pastoral care and confession with the kopimist priests (the Ops), priests are protected under Swedish law by an absolute professional secrecy.
Copyright Religion is our absolute opposite – Ongoing obstruction of copying.

We challenge all copyright believers – most of which have a great deal of influence in politics, and who derive their power by limiting people’s lives and freedom. What they most of all want to limit the knowledge. We need to steel ourselves for their hatred and aggression.

- Copy. download, uplooad!
- All knowlegde to all!
- Information technology is not to be feathered by laws. (Source)

Additional:

Pro-Piracy Group says it's now a recognised religion in Sweden

The Missionary Church of Kopimism has one central belief: that it's okay to copy information, in any form. And now the church of file-sharing has finally succeeded in its bid to be recognized as a religion in Sweden, according to apress release from the group and a report on Torrent Freak that is being widely cited. The new development would mark a turnaround for the group begun by philosophy student Isak Gerson. The group's two previous requests to be certified as an official religion were denied, on the grounds that its adherents didn't have enough in the way of formal rituals. Sweden has long been a bastion for piracy advocates; five years ago, the country's Pirate Party was founded in order push for copyright and patent reforms. "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," Gerson told Torrent Freak.

Sure, you could write the whole thing off as the digital equivalent of the popularity of the Rastafarian religion among a subset of college students. Over at The Raw Story, Stephen C. Webster writes that in 2010, Sweden had 22 recognized religions; most citizens follow a form of Lutheranism. But the Kopimism group has also studied the Swedish constitution, which guarantees all citizens the freedom to practice their religion. And they say their definition of "religion" — that it is "a belief system with rituals" — holds sway.

Since the news was announced early Wednesday, the church's website has been intermittently down. The Missionary Church of Kopimism counts 3,000 members. But as you might imagine, Gerson doesn't mind if others share in their victory. Source

Additional: BBC

A "church" whose central tenet is 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.

The "spiritual leader" of the church said recognition was a "large step".

But others were less enthusiastic and said the church would do little to halt the global crackdown on piracy.

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.

"Being recognised 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," he added.

The church's website has been unavailable since it broke the news of its religious status. A message urged those interested in joining to "come back in a couple of days when the storm has settled".

Despite the new-found interest in the organisation, experts said religious status for file-sharing would have little effect on the global crackdown on piracy.

"It is quite divorced from reality and is reflective of Swedish social norms rather than the Swedish legislative system," said music analyst Mark Mulligan.

"It doesn't mean that illegal file-sharing will become legal, any more than if 'Jedi' was recognised as a religion everyone would be walking around with light sabres.

"In some ways these guys are looking outdated. File-sharing as a means to pirate content is becoming yesterday's technology," he added.

Piracy crackdown

The establishment of the church comes amid a backdrop of governmental zero-tolerance towards piracy.

The crackdown on piracy has moved focus away from individual pirates and more towards the ecosystem that supports piracy.

In the US, the Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) aims to stop online ad networks and payment processors from doing business with foreign websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement.

It could also stop search engines from linking to the allegedly infringing sites. Domain name registrars could be forced to take down the websites, and internet service providers forced to block access to the sites accused of infringing.

The government is pushing ahead with the controversial legislation despite continued opposition.