January 6, 2012 | 9:24 am

Sweden recognizes copying and file-sharing as religion

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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Here is a bizarre story discussing the intersection between my religion reporting and intellectual property interests: Sweden has recognized copying and file sharing as religion.

The LA Times explains:

In the midst of a worldwide debate about Internet piracy, Swedish authorities have granted official religious status to the Church of Kopimism, which claims it considers CTRL+C and CTRL+V (shortcuts for copy and paste) to be sacred symbols, and that information is holy and copying is a sacrament.

The church was founded by philosophy student Isak Gerson, who is also the self-appointed spiritual leader of the movement.

In a statement on the church’s website, he says its religious roots stem back to 2010 and that it formalized a community of file sharers that already has been “well spread” for a long time.

“The community of kopimi requires no formal membership,” he writes. “You just have to feel a calling to worship what is the holiest of the holiest, information and copy.”

And people thought Temple 420 was just a gimmick to smoke pot under the cover of religious worship. At least Craig X. Rubin made an argument that cannabis came from God and groups have long recognized drug use as a vehicle for communicating with God.

Kopimism appears to have been created from whole cloth, which is actually surprising because you might expect its founder to have copied his church’s sacred documents.

January 4, 2012 | 5:56 pm

Iowa caucuses, Jews and Israel

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

The Iowa caucuses are over and Mitt Romney edged out Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul followed them. Michele Bachmann, who was not the Jewish candidate, is done. And Newt Gingrich has moved on to New Hampshire and taking shots at Romney.

But what does it all mean for Jews and for Israel?

Shmuel Rosner has eight thoughts. Check out No. 1:

At the top spots there are now three candidates. One is much too conservatively Christian to have any chance with most of the Jewish vote (but is well liked in some hawkish Jewish circles). One is much too isolationist and much too suspicious on Israel to have any chance with the Jewish vote (but is fast becoming the darling of the imbecile wing of the Israeli left). And then there’s Mitt Romney. Hawkish enough to get the votes of Jewish hawks; Moderate enough to be considered (and in most cases rejected) by Jewish moderates that aren’t happy with Obama.

I agree completely. And if Republicans want to win over anyone not died in the wool red—not just Jews unhappy with Obama—then they really should recognize how much more viable a candidate Romney is.

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January 4, 2012 | 12:16 pm

Terrible Christmas gifts and angry children - Part 2

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Remember those terrible Christmas gifts? But wait ... there’s more!

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January 3, 2012 | 11:56 am

Using Holocaust images in Haredi protests

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Being told not to insult women who want to sit in the front of the bus or spit on little girls who dress “immodestly”—this is equivalent to the Nazi extermination of Jews? The Haredi were trying to sell that in a protest over the weekend in which they wore yellow stars and striped pajamas, but no one was buying it.

Via YNet:

Avner Shalev, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate said in response: “I condemn the use of Holocaust symbols in a protest of any kind. This is reprehensible. The Holocaust is nothing like what goes on in Israel.”

Though many defended the use of Holocaust images in the protest, other Haredi criticized it. Which is good, because this is exactly the kind of tactic that the Muslim Student Union was properly criticized for employing during Palestinian Awareness Week in 2009, when they put a keffiyah on Anne Frank and exploited her message of hope.

The battle between Haredi and secular Israelis had been below the surface for years, but it has been boiling over for the past couple months. I’m starting to think that Israeli President Shimon Peres may have been correct when he said that Israel is “fighting for the soul of the nation.”

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January 2, 2012 | 11:28 pm

Iowa Caucuses: Mormons and Catholics and Methodists—oh my!

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Speaking of the Iowa Caucuses, Terry Mattingly, in a GetReligion post, pointed out how interesting the GOP candidates are from a religious perspective:

I mean, you’ve got this libertarian guy who is a hero for many pro-lifers.

You have the Mormon guy who has been trying and trying to win over his fair share of evangelical Protestants voters. Problem is, some think he’s too Mormon. Others think he isn’t Mormon enough. Sorry ‘bout that.

You have this recent convert to Catholicism who is a hero to lots of conservatives who aren’t Catholics.

You have this United Methodist guy who lots of people seem to think is a power prophecy charismatic or something.

You have this other Catholic who is so conservative, when it comes to the specifics of his Catholic faith, that some journalists keep calling him an evangelical.

As tmatt goes on to say, that is pretty fascinating stuff. I mean, there’s no Muslim or Jew or, heaven forbid, atheist in the group. But that’s probably a bit more diversity than voters are used to.

Not that it should matter. As I’ve said before: voters really shouldn’t believe politicians that make a big point about their faith. It’s just too hard to determine sincerity.

Read the rest of tmatt’s post here.

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January 2, 2012 | 9:18 pm

This is Iowa nice?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

The Iowa Caucuses are only a day away. You’ve probably heard a lot about who conservatives are supporting, maybe a bit about evangelicals. After all, only the GOP is uncertain about whom it will be nominating to run for president.

But is away so nice for Republicans? Not according to the above video (clean version). Don’t forget: Iowa legalized gay marriage back in 2009.

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January 2, 2012 | 12:46 am

Santa and Jesus sing duet

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

A good night cap to the holiday season.

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January 1, 2012 | 9:20 pm

Vatican establishes order for former Episcopal parishes and priests

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

In June, an Episcopalian church in Maryland announced it was joining the Catholic Church. And for years there have been former Episcopal priests who converted to Catholicism and started working as priests for the Catholic Church—despite being married and with children. Now the Catholic Church is looking to welcome in more parishes and priests that are leaving the Episcopal Church.

According to The New York Times, the Vatican has basically created the equivalent of a nationwide diocese that will embrace breakaway Episcopal churches and former priests that convert to Catholicism and will oversee them in the same manner that a regional diocese oversees the Catholics within its region. More:

Converts who join the new entity will be full-fledged Catholics, expected to show allegiance to the pope and oppose contraception and abortion. But they will be allowed to preserve revered verses from the Book of Common Prayer. And, in what one Catholic leader called “an act of generosity,” priests who are married will be exempted from the Catholic requirement of celibacy, though they may not become bishops.

The new grouping, called the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, will have its headquarters in Houston and be led by Jeffrey N. Steenson, a former Episcopal bishop and father of three who left the church in 2007 and became a Catholic priest in 2009, under an existing exemption for converting Anglicans.

With the title of ordinary, Father Steenson will be a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and will report directly to the Vatican, church officials said.

Read the rest here.

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