Christian Nudism

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Before the establishment of Islam in Arabia and the total elimination of idolatry in that land, the idol-worshipers had control of the Ka’bah and would perform Tawaf (circling) of it totally in the nude. Islam abolished this satanic practice:

وَأَنْ لاَ يَحُجَّ بَعْدَ الْعَامِ مُشْرِكٌ وَلاَ يَطُوفَ بِالْبَيْتِ عُرْيَانٌ

“No polytheist shall perform the Hajj after this year, nor shall anyone perform Tawaf of the House naked” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

Public nudity is strictly forbidden, for both males and females, in the Shari’ah.

But according to the Bible, the Prophet Isaiah prophesied while naked: “At the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.” (Isaiah 20:2), and likewise did Prophet Micah prophesy while naked, “Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked” (Micah 1:8).

It seems to me that what is intended in these passages by the word naked is the wearing of minimal clothing, meaning only an inner garment or underwear, as a person would be considered “naked” if he was not wearing the outer garment in public.

The Bible mentions the story of King Saul, having the Spirit of God upon him, prophesying naked in the presence of the Prophet Samuel: “and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1 Samuel 19:23-24) The implication here is that, at least in the public perception, a man stripping naked and lying down exposed in public was an action associated with prophets and prophesying.

It is stated in the Bible that the nakedness of King David became exposed to the people while performing a celebratory dance for which his wife Michal sarcastically rebuked him, “And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!” (2 Samuel 6:20)

One of the main sacraments of Christianity is baptism. Apparently, early Christians used to practice baptism, a public ritual, totally naked. Writing in the early 3rd century CE, Hippolytus gives instructions on how baptism is to be performed according to the Apostolic tradition of Christianity, “Then they shall take off all their clothes. The children shall be baptized first. After this the men will be baptized. Finally, the women, after they have unbound their hair and removed their jewelry. No one shall take any foreign object with themselves down into the water.” (The Apostolic Tradition, 21:3-5)

Incidentally, Islam has its own version of baptism that a newly converted Muslim is expected to observe. But this is not a public ritual, rather a private full body washing. It is termed Ghusl, and Muslims perform it also to remove ritual impurity, for instance the Ghusl al-Janabah. Then there is Ghusl al-Mayyit, the ritual full body washing of the deceased corpse before its shrouding and burial. Because these are ritual washings done for religious reasons, and not merely ordinary bathing, they ought to be understood as a form of baptism.

Between the 2nd and 4th centuries CE, a Christian sect known as the Adamites appeared in parts of North Africa and the Near East. They practiced nudity as part of the heresy that they had been restored to the primeval innocence of Adam and Eve before the Fall. They rejected the institution of marriage. There may have been similar groups in medieval Europe, which were likewise dubbed “Adamites”. These were generally radical antinomian cults that lived communally and were accused of all manner of debauchery. At present there are some Christian nudist or naturist communities that practice nudism for various reasons, and have revived the early Christian practice of nude baptism.