File sharing now a religion

The Washington Post reports:

A file-sharing group that considers itself a spiritual organization said Thursday that Sweden has recognized it as a religious community. According to documents provided by spiritual leader Isak Gerson, 20, his Church of Kopimism received that approval in late December. …

Gerson said in an interview that some of the church’s roughly 3,000 members meet every week to share files of music, films and other content they consider holy and regard copying as a sacrament. He said the church’s philosophy opposes copyrights in all forms and encourages piracy of all types of media, including music, movies, TV shows, and software. …

“Being recognized by the state of Sweden is a large step for all of Kopimi. Hopefully, this is one step toward the day when we can live out our faith without fear of persecution,” he said.

This could become a very popular religion. When is the next NZ census again? 🙂