By Beckett Mufson, Columnist
Anybody who saw the 2011 cinematic reinterpretation of Thor knows that Northern Europe has a penchant for creating awesome religions. Recently, the Swedes have followed suit in the “awesome religion” department. Their relatively new faith is called Kopimism (Kopy + me + ism), and it focuses, not on power and the ability to smash in the face of other beliefs, but rather absolute freedom of information. Kopimism originated in Sweden when Isak Gerson, then 19 years old, and some like-minded individuals drafted the Kopimist Constitution. Early in January 2012, Kopimism was recognized as an official religion by the Swedish government, and shortly thereafter branches began popping up all over the world, including The First Church of Kopimism for the USA. Main tenants of Kopimism include: “copying of information is ethically right,” “dissemination of information is ethically right” and “the internet is become.” It seems that Kopimists take scientific knowledge and give it the same respect and reverence that other religions give to their text-based dogma. This week, the House of Representatives will vote on a new bill entitled the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). Many Internet-based companies have come out against the bill and several advocate groups are actively working to shut it down. The Kopimist faith believes that “copying of information is ethically right” and that “the internet is