Techniques of religion-making in Sweden: The case of the Missionary Church of Kopimism

Abstract

This article is an analysis of the recognition of the Missionary Church of Kopimism as a faith community by the Swedish state. The analysis draws on post-Foucaultian writings on governmentality and seeks to understand what kind of normative and proscriptive understandings of ''religion'' guide the process. The authors argue that the recognition reveals fundamental aspects of the Swedish state's performative role in the recognition of faith communities which challenges any unreflective classification of it as ''secular.''

Invented Religion, the Awakened Polis, and Sacred Disestablishment: The Case of Slovenia's “Zombie Church”

“…As far as we can confirm, the Trans-Universal Zombie Church of the Blissful Ringing is only the second invented religion to be officially registered as a bona fide religion by any state authority since Sweden registered the Missionary Church of Kopimism in 2012 (Nilsson and Enkvist 2016). We emphasize that while the Zombie case did not force a revision of Slovenian legislation, it compelled the state to change its registration practice.…”

Temple Tracks

“…But this project adds a key question to the mix: who is in the driver's seat when it comes to making religion? While the role of the state, courts and political and religious institutions in constructing religion has been highlighted in the scholarship (Ashiwa and Wank 2009;Dressler and Mandair 2011;Elfenbein 2015;Nilsson and Enkvist 2016;Telle 2016), the role of nonelite, everyday actors as religion makers has received far less attention.…”

La Iglesia del Monstruo del Espagueti Volador y las confesiones religiosas en el derecho español. Apuntes desde la jurisprudencia constitucional

“…Los requisitos establecidos por el derecho estatal terminan siendo aquello que las religiones adoptarán como sus propios elementos de identidad. En algunas ocasiones, siguiendo un proceso de intento y error, los nuevos grupos terminan logrando entrar en el olimpo jurídico de las religiones, como sucedió con la Iglesia misionera del kopimismo en Suecia (Nilsson y Enkvist, 2016). En otros casos, ese formateo parece obligar a los nuevos grupos a adoptar distintos nombres cada vez que intentan su reconocimiento jurídico, como sucedió con la Iglesia de Unificación (Sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional 46/2001, de 15 de febrero, ES:TC:2001:46, fundamento jurídico n.º 3) o con la propia IMEV (Sentencia de la Audiencia Nacional 2490/2020, de 19 de octubre de 2020, ES:AN:2020:2490, fundamento de derecho primero).…”