text: A group of 3,000 Swedish file sharers have succeeded in getting their organisation, called the Church of Kopimism, recognised as a religion by the Swedish authorities. 
   
   The movement has been trying to gain official recognition for their beliefs in sharing and data copying since 2010. The church's name comes from "Kopimi", pronounced "copy me". The organisation believes that communication and sharing is sacred and needs to be respected. They also think it is wrong to monitor and eavesdrop on people. The church has applied for official status a number of times and had its request denied, most recently in July 2011. 
   
   However, just before Christmas Kopimism was approved as an official religion (as opposed to a sect), although founder Isak Gerson and chairman Gustav Nipe only opened the letter containing the news yesterday. Before being approved by the National Judicial Board for Public Lands & Funds, the church was required to formalise its way of praying or meditation. 
   
   Founder and philosophy student Isak Gerson told Wired.co.uk: "Our main ritual is the act of copying and connecting with each other by sharing information." 
   
   He added: "Just being recognised by the state of Sweden will help strengthen our identity." 
   
   The new religious status doesn't make file sharing legal for Kopimists -- although there are a few exemptions from some laws for religions in Sweden -- but Gerson hopes that their beliefs may be considered in future legislation. The next step for the organisation is, according to Gerson, to "develop our religious practice". 
   
   For more information about Kopimism, check out the church's website. ||||| Since 2010 a group of self-confessed pirates have tried to get their beliefs recognized as an official religion in Sweden. After their request was denied several times, the Church of Kopimism - which holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V as sacred symbols - is now approved by the authorities as an official religion. The Church hopes that its official status will remove the legal stigma that surrounds file-sharing. 
   
   All around the world file-sharers are being chased by anti-piracy outfits and the authorities, and the situation in Sweden is no different. While copyright holders are often quick to label file-sharers as pirates, there is a large group of people who actually consider copying to be a sacred act. 
   
   Philosophy student Isak Gerson is such a religious file-sharer, and in an attempt to protect his unique belief system he founded The Missionary Church of Kopimism in 2010. In the hope that they could help prevent persecution for their beliefs, the Church then filed a request to be officially accepted by the authorities. 
   
   After two failed attempts, where the Church was asked to formalize its way of praying or meditation, the authorities finally recognized the organization as an official religion. The Church’s founder is ecstatic about this news, and hopes that it will motivate more people to come forward as ‘Kopimists’. 
   
   “I think that more people will have the courage to step out as Kopimists. Maybe not in the public, but at least to their close ones,” Isak tells TorrentFreak. “There’s still a legal stigma around copying for many. A lot of people still worry about going to jail when copying and remixing. I hope in the name of Kopimi that this will change.” 
   
   Although the formal status of the Church doesn’t mean that copyright infringement is now permitted, the Church’s founder hopes that their beliefs will be considered in future lawmaking. 
   
   During the last half year the Missionary Church of Kopimism tripled its members from 1,000 to 3,000 and it’s expected that the recent news will cause another surge in followers. Official member or not, Gerson encourages everyone with an Internet connection to keep on sharing. 
   
   “We confessional Kopimists have not only depended on each other in this struggle, but on everyone who is copying information. To everyone with an internet connection: Keep copying. Maintain hardline Kopimi,” Gerson concludes. 
   
   Prospective followers who embrace the same calling are of course welcome to join the movement, free of charge.
target: – Sweden may not condone file-sharing—it's still illegal—but the country is officially OK with belief in the practice. Some 3,000 passionate file-sharers have gotten their beliefs recognized as an official religion. The Missionary Church of Kopimism—as in, "copy-me-ism"—has sought official status in Sweden since 2010, and it's finally won the battle, TorrentFreak reports. The decision follows a pair of rejections; authorities wanted Kopimism to define its prayer practices. "Our main ritual is the act of copying and connecting with each other by sharing information," the church's founder tells Wired. Now, Isak Gerson says, "more people will have the courage to step out as Kopimists. Maybe not in the public, but at least to their close ones." He hopes that the recognition will have an effect on future legislation surrounding file-sharing. Meanwhile, he has some advice for fellow believers: "Keep copying. Maintain hardline Kopimi."