The Church of Kopimism Worships the Holy Spirit of File-Sharing

It’s not just about the big five anymore – groups around the world have successfully lobbied for Jediism, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and other pop culture-y religions to get official recognition. The newest addition to this group is Kopimism, more informally known as the religion of file-sharing.

Swedish philosophy student Isak Gerson founded the Missionary Church of Kopimism last year as a response to comments that people who shared files online were thieves or pirates. In his official explanation of the religion (it’s in Swedish, so work with me and Google translate here), Gerson likens Control-C and Control-V commands to religious symbols, Kopimism’s very own Star of David or cross.

On its third attempt (they previously met with challenges, including a request to incorporate some form of prayer, meditation, or contemplative practice into their belief system), Kopimism was formally accepted on the list of religions in Sweden. The group now claims about 3,000 listed adherents. “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,” Gerson told the website TorrentFreak.