Missionary Church of Kopimism
The Missionary Church of Kopimism (in Swedish Missionerande Kopimistsamfundet), founded by 19-year-old philosophy student Isak Gerson,[1] is a congregation of file sharers who claim that copying information is a sacred virtue.[2][3][4] The Church, based in Sweden, has been officially recognized by the Swedish Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency ("kammarkollegiet") as a religious community, after three application attempts.[1][5]
Tenets
The followers of the religion are called Kopimists from copy me, the root of which is a phrase in the Bible[6]:
Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ
— 1 Corinthians 11:1
This phrase has been translated by the Kopimists as: "Copy me, my brothers, just as I copy Christ himself". According to the church, "In our belief, communication is sacred."[2] No belief in gods or supernatural phenomena is mentioned on their web site. CTRL+C and CTRL+V, the computer shortcut keys for "Copy" and "Paste," are considered sacred symbols.
- All knowledge to all
- The search for knowledge is sacred
- The circulation of knowledge is sacred
- The act of copying is sacred.
On January 5, 2012, Kopimism was accepted by Sweden as a legitimate religion. The religion's association with illegal 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 matter.
Sharing of information in other religions
- In the Christian Bible, a number of phrases atleast seem to promote the "Sharing of Knowledge":
- Gift of Knowledge by the Holy Spirit appearently isn't suggesting copying nor sharing information..
- According to the bible, having all the knowledge in the world is useless, without the desire for charity(sharing):
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
— KJV: 1 Corinthians 13:2
- In bible, obstruction of the flow of knowledge is suggested to be the destruction of mankind:
my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children."
— 1 Corinthians 13:2
- Vidya Daan(विद्या दान) translated as Knowledge Charity, a concept in Daan, is a tenet of all Dharmic Religions that also values the sharing of information[citation needed].
- In Islam, the prophet Muhammad said: "Wisdom is the lost property of the faithful; wherever he finds it he has the right to take it" [7]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Sweden recognises new file-sharing religion Kopimism". BBC News. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
- ^ a b Jackson, Nicholas (10 April 2011). "The Information Will Get Out: A New Religion for File-Sharers". The Atlantic. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ "File-Sharers Await Official Recognition of New Religion". TorrentFreak. 10 April 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ Citrome, Michael (14 April 2011). "NETWORTHY: Copy, paste, amen". Montreal Mirror. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ "File-Sharing Recognized as Official Religion in Sweden". TorrentFreak. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
- ^ The Pirate and the Priest: How Digital Turned into Divine
- ^ Sunan Tirmidhi Tradition:4159, Sunan Ibn Majah Tradition:9784, Ibid Tradition:9785, Mishkat al-Masabih Tradition:216
External links
- Official website
- Kopimi
- Collective Conciousness
- Knowledge -Ethics Wikia
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