Cathedrals of the surf zone

Regulating Access to a Space of Spirituality

Bibliographic Data

ID3977628
AuthorsJon Anderson (0000-0002-6052-5154, Cardiff University, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume14
Issue8
Pages954-972
Publication date2013-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial & Cultural Geography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-9365 • E-ISSN: 1470-1197
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14649365.2013.845903
OpenAlexW2074806933
LanguageEN
Citations received27
References cited47

This paper explores the place of the surfed wave as not simply a site of human–nature relations, but also as a space of spirituality. Surfing is widely considered as a sport of hedonism and risk, but this paper suggests it can also be understood as a means to experience the transcendent. By first introducing the surf zone as a space of liminality and transformation, this paper illustrates how the surfed wave is a cathedral for surfers' ‘aquatic nature religion’ (Taylor, B. (2007a) Focus introduction. Aquatic nature religion. Journal of the American Academy of Religion 75 (4): 863–874; Taylor, B. (2007b) Surfing into spirituality and a new, aquatic nature religion. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 75 (4): 923–951). Due to the religious nature of the surfed wave, the paper suggests that the informal (b)orders surfers use to regulate the surf zone—understood here as the codes of surfer-provenance and surfer-positioning—do not simply regulate access to the surf zone in a territorial sense, but also they effectively regulate access to the experience of relational spirituality

Aesthetics · Liminality · Sociology · Spirituality · Adventure Sports and Sensation Seeking · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Philosophy · Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management

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