Pinned on Karma Rock: Whitewater Kayaking as Religious Experience
This paper argues that whitewater paddling constitutes religious experience, that non-western terms often best describe this experience and that these two facts are related and have much to tell us about the nature of religious experience. That many paddlers articulate their experiences using Asian...
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| Published in | Journal of the American Academy of Religion Vol. 75; no. 4; pp. 875 - 895 |
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| Main Author | |
| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
Cary, NC
Oxford University Press
01.12.2007
American Academy of Religion, Oxford University Press Oxford Publishing Limited (England) |
| Subjects | |
| Online Access | Get full text |
| ISSN | 0002-7189 1477-4585 |
| DOI | 10.1093/jaarel/lfm062 |
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| Abstract | This paper argues that whitewater paddling constitutes religious experience, that non-western terms often best describe this experience and that these two facts are related and have much to tell us about the nature of religious experience. That many paddlers articulate their experiences using Asian and/or indigenous religious terms suggests that this language is a form of opposition to existing norms of what constitutes religious experience. So, investigating the sport as an aquatic nature religion provides the opportunity to revisit existing categories. As a “lived religion,” whitewater kayaking is a ritual practice of an embodied encounter with the sacred, and the sacred encounter is mediated through the body's performance in the water. This sacred encounter—with its risk and danger—illustrates Rudolph Otto's equation of the sacred with terrifying and unfathomable mystery and provides a counterpoint to norms of North American religiosity and related scholarship. |
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| AbstractList | This paper argues that whitewater paddling constitutes religious experience, that non-western terms often best describe this experience and that these two facts are related and have much to tell us about the nature of religious experience. That many paddlers articulate their experiences using Asian and/or indigenous religious terms suggests that this language is a form of opposition to existing norms of what constitutes religious experience. So, investigating the sport as an aquatic nature religion provides the opportunity to revisit existing categories. As a "lived religion," whitewater kayaking is a ritual practice of an embodied encounter with the sacred, and the sacred encounter is mediated through the body's performance in the water. This sacred encounter--with its risk and danger--illustrates Rudolph Otto's equation of the sacred with terrifying and unfathomable mystery and provides a counterpoint to norms of North American religiosity and related scholarship. This paper argues that whitewater paddling constitutes religious experience, that non-western terms often best describe this experience and that these two facts are related and have much to tell us about the nature of religious experience. That many paddlers articulate their experiences using Asian and/or indigenous religious terms suggests that this language is a form of opposition to existing norms of what constitutes religious experience. So, investigating the sport as an aquatic nature religion provides the opportunity to revisit existing categories. As a "lived religion," whitewater kayaking is a ritual practice of an embodied encounter with the sacred, and the sacred encounter is mediated through the body's performance in the water. This sacred encounter--with its risk and danger--illustrates Rudolph Otto's equation of the sacred with terrifying and unfathomable mystery and provides a counterpoint to norms of North American religiosity and related scholarship. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT] This paper argues that whitewater paddling constitutes religious experience, that non-western terms often best describe this experience and that these two facts are related and have much to tell us about the nature of religious experience. That many paddlers articulate their experiences using Asian and/or indigenous religious terms suggests that this language is a form of opposition to existing norms of what constitutes religious experience. So, investigating the sport as an aquatic nature religion provides the opportunity to revisit existing categories. As a "lived religion," whitewater kayaking is a ritual practice of an embodied encounter with the sacred, and the sacred encounter is mediated through the body's performance in the water. This sacred encounter-with its risk and danger-illustrates Rudolph Otto's equation of the sacred with terrifying and unfathomable mystery and provides a counterpoint to norms of North American religiosity and related scholarship. (Author abstract) This paper argues that whitewater paddling constitutes religious experience, that non-western terms often best describe this experience and that these two facts are related and have much to tell us about the nature of religious experience. That many paddlers articulate their experiences using Asian and/or indigenous religious terms suggests that this language is a form of opposition to existing norms of what constitutes religious experience. So, investigating the sport as an aquatic nature religion provides the opportunity to revisit existing categories. As a "lived religion," whitewater kayaking is a ritual practice of an embodied encounter with the sacred, and the sacred encounter is mediated through the body's performance in the water. This sacred encounter-with its risk and danger-illustrates Rudolph Otto's equation of the sacred with terrifying and unfathomable mystery and provides a counterpoint to norms of North American religiosity and related scholarship.This paper argues that whitewater paddling constitutes religious experience, that non-western terms often best describe this experience and that these two facts are related and have much to tell us about the nature of religious experience. That many paddlers articulate their experiences using Asian and/or indigenous religious terms suggests that this language is a form of opposition to existing norms of what constitutes religious experience. So, investigating the sport as an aquatic nature religion provides the opportunity to revisit existing categories. As a "lived religion," whitewater kayaking is a ritual practice of an embodied encounter with the sacred, and the sacred encounter is mediated through the body's performance in the water. This sacred encounter-with its risk and danger-illustrates Rudolph Otto's equation of the sacred with terrifying and unfathomable mystery and provides a counterpoint to norms of North American religiosity and related scholarship. |
| Author | Sanford, A. Whitney |
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| Copyright | Copyright 2007 American Academy of Religion The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the American Academy of Religion. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org 2007 Copyright © 2007 The Author. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the American Academy of Religion. 2008 INIST-CNRS The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the American Academy of Religion. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org |
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| SubjectTerms | Boats Case studies Environmental ethics Focus: Aquatic Nature Religion General subjects. History of religions. Religious anthropology History and sciences of religions History, 20th Century History, 21st Century Karma Kayaking Krishna Life Change Events Love poetry Mental Health - history Native culture Nature Physical Fitness - physiology Physical Fitness - psychology Recreation - economics Recreation - physiology Recreation - psychology Religion Religious experience philosophy Religious Philosophies - history Religious Philosophies - psychology Religious practices Religious rituals Risk-Taking Social Behavior Social Conditions - economics Social Conditions - history Social Conditions - legislation & jurisprudence Sports - economics Sports - education Sports - history Sports - legislation & jurisprudence Sports - physiology Sports - psychology Studies in religion |
| Title | Pinned on Karma Rock: Whitewater Kayaking as Religious Experience |
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