The Church of Kopimism, whose principal tenent is the right to file-share, has been formally recognized as a religious organization in Sweden.

The Church of Kopimism, whose principal tenent is the right to file-share, has been formally recognized as a religious organization in Sweden.

The Swedish government agency Kammarkollegiet registered the Church of Kopimism as a religious organization in late December, just before Christmas, the group said in a Wednesday statement. Members of the church applied three times in their more than year-long quest to have the religion formally recognized in Sweden.

Sweden is now the first and only country to recognize Kopimism as a religion, the group said.

"For the Church of Kopimism, information is holy and copying is a sacrament," it said in a statement. "Information holds a value, in itself and in what it contains, and the value multiplies through copying. Therefore, copying is central for the organization and its members."

Philosophy student Isak Gerson, spiritual leader and founder of the Church of Kopimism, said being recognized by Sweden is a big step towards removing the stigma around copying.

"Hopefully, this is one step towards the day when we can live out our faith without fear of persecution," Gerson said in a statement.

The Church of Kopimism, which holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V (the keyboard shortcuts for copy and paste) as sacred symbols, was founded in 2010 with the hopes that file-sharing would be given religious protection. Followers of the church, who are called Kopimists, organize so-called "kopyactings," or religious services where members copy and share information with each other.

The move by Sweden to recognize the Church of Kopimism does not, however, legalize the sharing of files containing copyrighted material, TorrentFreak noted in a report.

As of Thursday, the Church of Kopimism’s Web site was down due to a huge surge in traffic because of the news. A message on the site, however, encouraged those interested in becoming a member to click back in a few days "when the storm has settled."

In related news, scientists in the U.K. that Apple technologies actually provide some people with a religious experience. The researchers found that Apple products stimulate the same parts of the brain as religious imagery does in people of faith.