Kopimism USA

The following was originally posted on the Swedish Church of Kopimism and translated into English. All efforts have been made to keep the original intention and meaning of the text in place. This values statement will be found under the “about” section of this website from now on. Please copy and seed.

From http://kopimistsamfundet.se/ (First posted in Swedish on 01/10/2012):

Kopimi was coined as a concept in the early 2000′s on a pirate Agency Forum. Kopimi, from the word “copy me”, is an invitation to copy. Kopimi is the name of an attitude to life, animated by the desire to be copied and copied. For us the question of freedom to copy is not political, but much deeper than that.

The Church of Kopimism does not make claims regarding gods or supernatural forces. Life as we know it originated with the DNA molecule’s ability to duplicate itself, irrespective of the original creation of the Universe. The process is the most basic element of life, nature, and the DNA is really just an information carrier, a result of molecular segments that determine who we become. Reproduction is the very condition for cell division and life in the form we know it.

Copying is fundamental to life and runs constantly all around us. Shared information provides new perspectives and generate new life. We feel a spiritual connection to the created file.

An important feature of our church is the missionary message. From all to one and from one to all – and then back again – exchange without beginning and without end. Everything to everyone’s delight, and everybody’s joy of it all. No one is excluded from the global community of knowledge and information sharing. Every believer has all knowledge – all knowledge is spread by every believer to all people without exception. Start the exponential cascade.

Languages are cultural expressions of different ways to exchange information, and are essential tools for most social animals. Culture itself develops in concert with the dissemination and evolution of languages. It is not possible to distinguish the spread of culture from the creative process because it is virtually the same thing. As with language, culture becomes useless and dies out if it does not spread. Copying is creating. To create is to copy. That something occurs out of nothing is an absurd idea.

The missionary Church of Kopimism applied to become a registered religious community because we deserve the same recognition and respect other faiths. Soon we will also apply for marriages, as well as for government support to expand our business.

We humans always want answers to difficult questions. Kopimism is a creed that tries to answer the existential question: what is the meaning of life? We believe the answer lies in the copying, distribution and remixing of information

While our USA branch of the Missionary Church of Kopimism is still forming, we want to work out some identity issues. To start, we need to pick an appropriate acronym for the USA branch of the Church. Kopimists unite and make your voices heard! Please take the poll below. COPY is RIGHT

We have completed the first English translation of the Kopimist Constitution. I would call it unofficial because it has not yet been reviewed by a member of the original church for altered meaning etc. You can find a link to the Constitution in the menu bar. Remember to copy and seed!

The Church of Kopimism is recognized by the state of Sweden Just before Christmas, the Swedish governmental agency Kammarkollegiet registered the Church of Kopimism as a religious organization. This means that Sweden is the first country to recognize Kopimism as a religion. The Church of Kopimism has tried to become registered as a religious organization by Kammarkollegiet for more than a year. – Since Kammarkollegiet has been strict with formalities, we had to apply three times, a happy Gustav Nipe – board chairman for the organization – says. He continues, I think it might have something to do with the governmental organizations abiding by a very copyright-friendly attitude, with a twisted view on copying. 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 organization and its members. Being recognized by the state of Sweden is a large step for all of kopimi. Hopefully, this is one step towards the day when we can live out our faith without fear of persecution, says Isak Gerson, spiritual leader of the Church of Kopimism. The Church of Kopimism is a religious organization with roots from 2010. The organization formalizes a community that’s been well spread for a long time already. The community of kopimi requires no formal membership. You just have to feel a calling to worship what is the holiest of the holiest, information and copy. To do this, we organize kopyactings – religious services – where the Kopimists share information with each other through copying and remix. Copy and seed.

Hello and welcome to the USA division of the Missionary Church of Kopimism! In the near future we will upload full translations of the original Swedish Kopimist Constution and related philosophical texts. Thereafter, we will seek to expand our horizons by posting additional resources for individuals seeking more perspective on Kopimistic and anti-Kopimistic belief systems.

Please bear with us during these turbulent times! We welcome all comments and suggestions that you have to offer. If you are interested in contributing creatively to the website, feel free to contact us!

Until next time, Copy and Seed!