Truth is Stranger #130: File Sharing is a religion...in Sweden

From the BBC, via The Deacon's Bench:

Sweden recognises new file-sharing religion Kopimism

A "church" whose central tenet is the right to file-share has been formally recognised by the Swedish government.

The Church of Kopimism claims that "kopyacting" - sharing information through copying - is akin to a religious service.

The "spiritual leader" of the church said recognition was a "large step".

...

The church, which holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V (shortcuts for copy and paste) as sacred symbols, does not directly promote illegal file sharing, focusing instead on the open distribution of knowledge to all.

It was founded by 19-year-old philosophy student and leader Isak Gerson. He hopes that file-sharing will now be given religious protection.

"For the Church of Kopimism, information is holy and copying is a sacrament. Information holds a value, in itself and in what it contains and the value multiplies through copying. Therefore copying is central for the organisation and its members," he said in a statement.

You know, just when you begin to despair regarding religion's intersection with modern culture, a group of wackjobs creates such an inane definition of a religion that all the major religious traditions' stock goes way (way, way, way) up.

But: is using Creative Commons now idolatry?

More here.