File Sharing is Holy

Kopimism – is it a new religion or a political nightmare? It may be quieted now but this blogger believes controversy is right around the corner. So what is Kopimism? Where did it come from? Why is it such a big deal? Stop asking questions and I will tell you..

Based in Sweden, the religion of Kopimism (Swedish for “copy”) is the idea that file sharing is not only a right but a holy process. Founded by a 19 year old philosophy student, Kopimism took off in Sweden and is now working it’s way into the states. It was brought here by Christopher Carmean after first reading about the church on Reddit. He said he had reason enough because he has “always felt that sharing was right and good and should be celebrated.”

The central ideas behind Kopimism, as laid out by Carmean are:

• Copying of information is ethically right
• Dissemination of information is ethically right
• Copymixing is a sacred act because it expands the existing wealth of information and is seen as an act of respect
• The internet is holy
• Code is law

Seems like a programmer’s dream religion to me. And best of all, joining doesn’t require a big elaborate sacrifice to the internet god or dipping your body in a body of liquid, all you have to do is register online. After the US church gains enough members, it will be an official religion and will be eligible to receive tax benefits.

Kopimism also has its kitschy aspects. The followers see “CTRL + C” and “CTRL + V” as sacred symbols and worship them. But this is obviously no different than any other religion, both old and new. So is this such a weird idea? They believe that the data that we share becomes more and more valuable the more often it is shared – this is true.

So why not choose a political party rather than a religion? It seems like such views would be better suited in the government world where the people could pass laws and regulations about file sharing. Carmean explains the choice as “Our beliefs are as much metaphysical as they are ethical. Politics deals with law and behavior. Our religion goes much farther than that.”

Read more of what Carmean told Mashable about Kopimism and come back here to discuss it.

Written by Myranda Harnage