In what's either a joke or a failed effort to protect their activities from legal assault, a group of pirates in Sweden have successfully turned piracy into a religion. According to Torrent Freak, the Missionary Church of Kopimism was founded in 2010 by Philosophy student Isak Gerson, and was this week confirmed as an official religion by Swedish authorities. According to the religion's website, Sunday service apparently consists of getting together and swapping the Led Zeppelin discography:
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, says Isak Gerson, spiritual leader of the Church of Kopimism. The Church of Kopimism is a religious organisation with roots from 2010. The organisation formalizes a community that's been well spread for a long time already. The community of kopimi requires no formal membership. You just have to feel a calling to worship what is the holiest of the holiest, information and copy. To do this, we organize kopyactings - religious services - where the kopimists share information with eachother through copying and remix.
Apparently the plan is to claim religious persecution when they're busted for copyright infringement, so we'll have to see how this adventure works out for them.read comment(s)