Editing Missionary Church of Kopimism

{{Short description|Congregation of file sharers}}
[[File:Kopimi k.svg|thumb|The Kopimi symbol]]
[[File:Kopimizm.svg|thumb|Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V]]
The '''Missionary Church of Kopimism''' (in [[Swedish language|Swedish]] ''Missionerande Kopimistsamfundet'') is a congregation of [[file sharing|file sharers]] who believe that copying information is a sacred virtue;<ref name="Jackson" /><ref name="await" /><ref name="CITROME" /> it was founded by Isak Gerson,<ref name=bbc/> a 19-year-old philosophy student,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sinnreich|first=Aram|date=2016-04-02|title=Sharing in spirit: Kopimism and the digital Eucharist|journal=Information, Communication & Society|volume=19|issue=4|pages=504–517|doi=10.1080/1369118X.2015.1036766|s2cid=214655623|issn=1369-118X}}</ref> and Gustav Nipe in [[Uppsala, Sweden]] in the autumn of 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kopimistsamfundetus.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/press-release-from-the-church-of-kopimism/|title=Press Release from the Church of Kopimism|date=2012-01-09|website=First United Church of Kopimism, US|access-date=2016-10-22}}</ref> The Church, based in Sweden, has been officially recognized by the [[Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency]] as a religious community in January 2012, after three applications.<ref name=bbc/><ref name="Ernesto"/>

Gerson has denied any connection between the Church and filesharing site [[The Pirate Bay]],<ref name="Privitera">{{cite web|last=Privitera|first=Salvatore|title=File-sharing as a religion, do we really need it?|url=https://pazuzu-uzu.blogspot.com/2012/01/file-sharing-as-religion-do-we-really.html|access-date=29 January 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504031906/http://pazuzu-uzu.blogspot.com/2012/01/file-sharing-as-religion-do-we-really.html|archive-date=4 May 2014}}</ref> but both groups are associated with the Swedish art and hacking collective [[Piratbyrån]].

== Name ==
The name Kopimism derives from the words ''copy'' and ''me'' which are the fundamental roots of the Church's beliefs and calls for an invitation to copy information. The word "Kopimi" first showed up on a pirate Agency Forum.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://kopimistsamfundetus.wordpress.com/about/|title=About|date=2012-01-09|newspaper=First United Church of Kopimism, US|language=en-US|access-date=2016-10-22}}</ref> Isak Gerson, one of the core founders, saw something beautiful and theological in this concept of "copy me"<ref>Gerson I (2014a) Interview with Gerson. By Nilsson PE, Upssala, 7 May</ref> and argued that the digital sharing of data is a fundamental act in our universe through the reproduction and copying of cells, DNA, and genes<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Nilsson|first1=Per-Erik|last2=Enkvist|first2=Victoria|date=2016-08-01|title=Techniques of religion-making in Sweden: The case of the Missionary Church of Kopimism|journal=Critical Research on Religion|language=en|volume=4|issue=2|pages=141–155|doi=10.1177/2050303215613145|s2cid=151879531|issn=2050-3032|url=http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-288449}}</ref> and that the entirety of the internet is essentially for sharing.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=John|first=Nicholas A.|date=2013-03-01|title=Sharing and Web 2.0: The emergence of a keyword|journal=New Media & Society|language=en|volume=15|issue=2|pages=167–182|doi=10.1177/1461444812450684|s2cid=7661243|issn=1461-4448}}</ref>

Gerson has been credited with once saying, "The only thing we can do as Christians now, I suppose, is to do what Jesus tried doing – and do it better."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dagensseglora.se/2014/01/08/vi-har-ett-lofte-om-att-allting-ska-bli-battre/|title=Dagens Seglora - Vi har ett löfte om att allting ska bli bättre|last=Seglora|first=Dagens|access-date=2016-11-20}}</ref>

==Tenets==
The followers of the religion are called ''Kopimists'' from ''copy me''.
A "Kopimist" or "Kopimist intellectual" is a person who has the philosophical belief that all information should be freely distributed and unrestricted. This philosophy opposes the monopolization of knowledge in all its forms, such as copyright, and encourages file sharing of all types of media including music, movies, TV shows, and software.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.revolutimes.com/2012/01/06/sweden-recognizes-file-sharing-as-a-religion/ |title=Sweden Recognizes File Sharing as a Religion |date=4 January 2012 |first=Jenny |last=Worman |publisher=RevoluTimes |accessdate=2 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111070619/http://www.revolutimes.com/2012/01/06/sweden-recognizes-file-sharing-as-a-religion/ |archive-date=11 January 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In fact, the act of withholding and economizing information through copyright is against the sacredness of information.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=John|first1=Nicholas A.|last2=Sützl|first2=Wolfgang|date=2016-04-02|title=The rise of 'sharing' in communication and media studies|journal=Information, Communication & Society|volume=19|issue=4|pages=437–441|doi=10.1080/1369118X.2015.1115888|s2cid=146594972|issn=1369-118X|url=https://zenodo.org/record/894638}}</ref> In its spiritual emphasis on copying as an ideal, Kopimism shares values with Chinese aesthetic traditions, in which "copying is valued not only as a learning tool (as it is in the West) but as artistically satisfying in its own right," a concept also called ''duplitecture''.<ref>{{Citation|last = Thompson |first = Clive |title = Imitation Can Be the Sincerest Form of Innovation |newspaper = Wired |date = 27 February 2013 |url =https://www.wired.com/2013/02/clive-thompson-imitation/ | accessdate = 2010-03-10}}</ref>

According to the church, "In our belief, communication is sacred."<ref name="Jackson" /> No belief in gods or supernatural phenomena apart from [[Kopimi]] itself is mentioned on their web site. ''[[Control-C|CTRL+C]]'' and ''[[Control-V|CTRL+V]]'', the common computer shortcut keys for "Copy" and "Paste," are considered sacred symbols. Some groups believe that Kopimi is considered to be a god, and others believe it to be a sacred symbol and spirit residing within every living being.

The community also holds a religious service known as "kopyacting" in which information is distributed to the believers using photocopiers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Neethu|first=R|date=November 2013|title=My Religion: My 'Copy' 'Right'|url=http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/24560|journal=Journal of Intellectual Property Rights|volume=18|pages=566–575|via=NISCAIR Online Periodicals Repository}}</ref>

According to the Kopimist constitution:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kopimistsamfundet.org/main/kopimist-constitution |title=Kopimist Constitution |work=The First Church of Kopimism for the USA |year=2012 |accessdate=1 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513044913/http://www.kopimistsamfundet.org/main/kopimist-constitution |archive-date=13 May 2012 }}</ref>
* Copying of information is ethically right.
* Dissemination of information is ethically right.
* Copymixing (the copying and mixing of information with others) is a sacred kind of copying, more so than the perfect, digital copying, because it expands and enhances the existing wealth of information.
* Copying or remixing information communicated by another person is seen as an act of respect and a strong expression of acceptance and Kopimistic faith.
* The Internet is holy.
* Code is law.

On January 5, 2012, Kopimism was accepted by Sweden as a legitimate religion with an estimated 4,000 members.<ref name=":0" /> The religion's association with illegal [[Legal aspects of file sharing|file sharing]] has been said not to be a sign that illegal file-sharing will be excused from Sweden's zero-tolerance approach to the controversial matter.<ref name=bbc/>

== International locations ==
Kopimism has also taken root in multiple nations, including:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mashable.com/2012/05/09/kopimism-file-sharing/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526230642/https://mashable.com/2012/05/09/kopimism-file-sharing/|archive-date=26 May 2012|title=Kopimism: File-Sharing Religion Takes Root in the U.S.|last=Fitzpatrick|first=Alex|website=Mashable|date=9 May 2012|access-date=2016-10-22}}</ref>
* Canada
* Japan
* Israel
* United States of America (including in the state of Illinois in the United States where Kopimism has registered as a non profit 503(c) organization in the form of a church.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gayathri |first1=Amrutha |title=A Pirate Walks Into a Church: Kopimism and the Sacred Act of File-Sharing |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/pirate-walks-church-kopimism-sacred-act-file-sharing-407954 |work=International Business Times |date=9 February 2012 }}</ref>)

==First wedding==
[[File:First ever Kopimist wedding.webm|thumb|Video of the wedding]]
On April 28, 2012, the Missionary Church of Kopimism held their first wedding.<ref name="Wedding"/> The wedding took place in [[Belgrade, Serbia]], between a [[Romanian people|Romanian]] woman and an [[Italian people|Italian]] man. The holy ceremony was conducted by a Kopimistic Op, wearing a [[Guy Fawkes mask]], while a computer read vows and some of Kopimism's central beliefs aloud.<ref>{{cite web | title='Til Delete Do Us Part: First Couple Married Under Swedish File-Sharing Religion | website=US News & World Report | date=7 May 2012 | url=//www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/05/07/til-delete-do-us-part-first-couple-married-under-swedish-file-sharing-religion | access-date=30 June 2023}}</ref>

The church declared: "We are very happy today. Love is all about sharing. A married couple shares everything with each other. Hopefully, they will copy and remix some DNA-cells and create a new human being. That is the spirit of Kopimism. Feel the love and share that information. Copy all of its holiness."

Gerson, the missionary leader of the Church of Kopimism, attended as a witness during the wedding.

== Controversies ==
Both founders, Gerson and Nipe, have had an extensive background in online activism and served as major players in the Swedish Piracy Movement,<ref>Dahlstrom F (2011) Han vill att fildelning ska klassas som religion. Uppsalatidningen, 8 April.</ref> which caused many journalists and government officials in Sweden to speculate on the real goals of the creation of this organization.

There was severe backlash amongst the media and Christian journals in 2011 after the founders first submitted their application for registering as a religion as journalists condemned the Missionary Church of Kopimism as "a political adventure",<ref>{{Cite news |title=De vill fildela i skydd av religionen |last=Zetterman |first=J |date=March 22, 2012 |work=Dagen }}</ref> "a PR stunt",<ref>{{Cite news |title=La˚t oss starta en religion! Forsamlingar klarar sig utan myndighetens forsyn |last=Dareberg |first=L |date=February 1, 2012 |work=Sydsvenskan }}</ref> and "a devaluation of religion".<ref>{{Cite news |title=Kammarkollegiet undergraver religionsfriheten|last=Editorial |date=January 12, 2012 |work=Kyrkans tidning }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Anti-copyright]]
* [[Culture vs. Copyright]]
* [[Gift economy]]
* [[Information wants to be free]]
* [[List of new religious movements]]
* [[New religious movement]]
* [[Parody religion]]
* [[Religion and the Internet]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|refs=

<ref name=bbc>{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16424659 | title = Sweden recognises new file-sharing religion Kopimism | work = BBC News | date = 5 January 2012 | accessdate = 5 January 2012 }}</ref>

<ref name="Ernesto">{{cite web|url=http://torrentfreak.com/file-sharing-recognized-as-official-religion-in-sweden-120104/|title=File-Sharing Recognized as Official Religion in Sweden|date=4 January 2012|work=[[TorrentFreak]]|accessdate=5 January 2012}}</ref>

<ref name="Jackson">{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/the-information-will-get-out-a-new-religion-for-file-sharers/237058/|title=The Information Will Get Out: A New Religion for File-Sharers|last=Jackson|first=Nicholas|date=10 April 2011|work=[[The Atlantic]]|accessdate=25 April 2011}}</ref>

<ref name=await>{{cite news|url=http://torrentfreak.com/file-sharers-await-official-recognition-of-new-religion-110410/|title=File-Sharers Await Official Recognition of New Religion |date=10 April 2011|work=[[TorrentFreak]]|accessdate=25 April 2011}}</ref>

<ref name="CITROME">{{cite news|url=http://www.montrealmirror.com/wp/2011/04/14/networthy-copy-paste-amen/|title=NETWORTHY: Copy, paste, amen|last=Citrome|first=Michael|date=14 April 2011|publisher=[[Montreal Mirror]]|accessdate=25 April 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110417040043/http://www.montrealmirror.com/wp/2011/04/14/networthy-copy-paste-amen/|archive-date=17 April 2011}}</ref>

<ref name="Wedding">{{cite web|url=http://kopimistsamfundet.se/blog/2012/04/29/first-kopimist-wedding/|title=First Kopimist Wedding|date=28 April 2012|accessdate=10 May 2012}}</ref>

}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}

{{File sharing}}
{{New religious movements}}

[[Category:File sharing]]
[[Category:Religion in Sweden]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 2012]]
[[Category:New religious movements established in the 2010s]]