FILE sharing has become a recognised religion in Sweden after a movement successfully registered the Church of Kopimism.

The group of 3000 members were official recognised by Swedish authorities and hope to make file sharing legal.



Spiritual leader of the Church of Kopimism Isak Gerson said the group’s main ritual is the act of copying and connecting with each other by sharing information.



“For the Church of Kopimism, information is holy and copying is a sacrament,” Mr Gerson wrote on the church’s website.



“Being recognized 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.”



Mr Gerson said the organisation has been trying to register the religion for over a year, but kept getting rejected.



“I think it might have something to do with the governmental organisations abiding by a very copyright friendly attitude, with a twisted view on copying,” he said.



The church's name comes from "Kopimi", pronounced "copy me".





Originally published asThou shall copy: File sharing becomes a religion