If we are going to deal with why religious nakedness as a spiritual discipline might not be accepted by the mainstream we have to first look at religion and this is actually where things can go a number of different directions. Fact is that some religions actually are very accepting of nakedness in spiritual practice. Eastern religions are as a rule more accepting of this than west. It is interesting that the religions of the world that are the most monotheistic (Islam, Judaism and Christianity) are also the most non accepting of nudity in the context of spiritual disciplines. I can speak toward Christianity with some authority, but some of the main issues with Islam and the equality of women directly stem from the idea of women being both modest and not showing any skin but face and hands. Judaism tends to follow whether or not the Jewish person in question is conservative or liberal. Liberal Jewish women tend to be far more open to nudity in the context of their faith than most. Christianity is much the same but in the United States the conservatives rule the roost for the most part, so nudity in the context of spiritual growth is very rare.
This has not always been the case in Christianity. You only have to look at certain mystical groups in Christian history, certain forms of monasticism through the centuries and Christian art to know than nudity has not always been looked at as a negative force in Christianity. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel is great example of this with its many naked figures in many different contexts. Simply put the current attitude toward nudity is not something that has always existed in Christianity.
I want to differentiate between faith and religion from my perspective. Faith is something that must be freely embraced. It is to trust and believe in something because you want to, not because you are forced or indoctrinated to do so. In all things, if someone has faith, they have chosen without coercion to believe what they believe.
Religion is by its very nature into persuading people to believe something through fear, manipulation or simply not allowing people to believe something else. Religion is about controlling peoples belief so that there is no variation in belief and everyone thinks and believes the same. In religion there is a great emphasis on ‘discipling’ people when they are young or new to the ‘faith’ so they know the truth. Religion has the tendency to fear new ideas and concepts when it comes to belief and to control this information and they often demonize anyone who believes differently than they do. When a religion considers something they ask only the question of ‘is this dangerous to what we believe?’ It becomes about the control of information and behavior so a person’s ‘faith’ is not upset.
Nudity in modern Christianity has always been problematic, particularly in the United States. Mostly this is because American Christianity has a hard time with new concepts in general and nudity in particular. The main thing this does is your average American Christian cannot make a distinction between nudity and sex. They are taught that to be naked is to invite sex and to be honest this is not going to go away.
When a child grows up in a religious Christian household, they are almost immediate confronted with parents who are working very hard to maintain their reputation as good Christian parents. To this end they quickly teach their children that they must not be naked and their naked body is something sinful before God. Not only does this lead to poor body image by a lot of Christian boys and girls, but it seems to defy the idea that all creations of God are good and that includes the human body. What is dangerously taught here is that to be nude is to be a sinner and so this causes any looking at one’s body to also be sinful. Sex and nudity become intertwined and so both are viewed as evil.
Over time, it becomes very hard for people to break this religious indoctrination. Say something over and over and it becomes true. It simply is believed because authority said so and that to break the word of authority is to sin. My question was always who sets up these authorities? Most of them were set up by themselves for their own sense of power and control over others. It is quite another matter to simply allow others to accept your authority rather than have it forced on you. If you do not agree, you are shunned, excommunicated or simply told you are going to hell now. How people in religion set themselves up in the position of God to make such decisions escapes me but they do.
To someone who wishes to be a Christian and a practitioner of nudity in the context of spiritual disciplines, the main thing that will be faced is fear, fear of discovery. I myself in writing this series realize that some people are going to label me in certain ways and reject me as a person who poses as being a Christian but I am teaching falsehood. By writing this stuff I am risking a lot, not because I believe that what I am saying is wrong, but because Christianity in religious form cannot accept anything different other than what they have been taught for many years. I have already had one person stop following this blog because of the fear they have of being discovered. I understand his fear and respect it because he is right to fear this religious force. It has no mercy or tolerance for variation in belief. It also can be quite harsh in its reaction. The only thing that really shields me is that I am independent and known for being a free thinking Christian. I also have made it very clear that if anyone cares to disagree they are welcome to do so and if they want to debate me they are more than welcome as well. So far, no real takers.
This of course leads me to my current problem in this series. I designed it to bring about dialogue between a lot of different groups: nudists, non-nudists, naturists, spiritual practitioners of all religions and conservative Christians of many sorts. The problem is not who has shown up but who has not. It is the conservative Christian who is absent from the dialogue. Oh, I have had some Christians comment but the ones that have are pretty free-spirited or the one person who left who gave me some Scriptural objections (finally) to what I was saying. I plan on engaging what he was saying later in this series, but I understand his exodus. On Facebook only one Christian friend explained some personal issues with this idea and I concurred that naked spirituality might be something far off for her because of some things she had been through. I have always maintained this is a matter of conscience but still silence from the Christian right for the most part. The nudists, naturalists and more open-minded seeker have been far more active with me on this topic and I am not surprised.
This is the very problem that illustrates perfectly the effect of religion in engaging this topic. The conservative Christian does not want to engage it because they do not want to be stained by the mere engaging of the topic. To them to engage in discussion on nudity in the context of prayer is to pervert prayer. They have always been taught this directly or indirectly so they do not question it. In truth they have not really thought about it because they are a) not allowed to do so or b) not encouraged to do so. Fear is what keeps them from doing so. They do not want to be ‘excommunicated’ in some way simply for even questioning what they have been taught. This is sad but it illustrates the effects quite well when it comes to religion and nudity.
For someone who wishes to add nudity to their disciplines or experience as a Christian I give the same advice I have already given: be very careful. Your going to have to make a decision somewhere along the line of how much this is worth to you and your spiritual growth. Most of you will have to keep this a secret or you could lose your place in your church and community. Reputation is largely cultural so if your reputation is necessary to minister in a community be very careful not to throw it away just so you can meditate in the nude. There are some who do not really care and seek to create their own communities based on naked spirituality. Understand given the current climate of religion in the United States and other places this may very well be a one way street. Once you pass through that door, you may not be able to get back again so choose very carefully.
Oddly enough though, as much as religion is blind to this issue, societal forces are also strong against nudity as well.
Next: Naked Problem #3: Spiritual Nudity vs. Society
All Things Rabyd 
I’ve been fascinated for a long time with the idea of combining Christian worship and nudity as a way to intimacy and freedom, but like you, I’ve never had the nerve to discuss it with anybody. You touch on some things I’ve really struggled with. I was raised in a conservative Christian home that was very strictly opposed to nudity. I never saw a female nude or had any idea what girls looked like without their clothes on — so when I reached puberty and was ravaged by hormones, I was really plagued with a lot of doubt and insecurity and curiosity. And in a quest to satisfy that curiosity, I got myself addicted to pornography at the age of 12. I’ve been struggling with that for nearly twenty years. My mind is still so confused between the ideas of nudity and intimacy and sex, mistaking one for the other and generally feeling lost. And I know a part of me just likes the idea of a naked Christian fellowship because I’m a porn addict and a “pervert,” but a large part of me has really wondered if something like that could finally bring me to demystify nudity, to put it in its proper place, to respect women’s bodies and not just lust after them; if it could bring me any peace or liberation. I’m still a pretty conservative Christian who would never be able to mention something like this in my church. Thanks for posting this series.
I think the issue you bring up is the crux of the matter. Because our backgrounds are very similar I can feel your struggles against pornography because I have had them myself. I can tell you this struggle is actually produced by religion and not Christian faith as defined by the Bible. What makes porn ‘porn’ is still something I must completely define but I would say part of the force of pornography is created by religion and not porn itself. For myself I never really beat pornography on a regular basis until I realized that the naked woman was not the problem, it was me and my perception of the naked woman that was the problem. I too struggle with why naked spirituality would be desirable for me personally but I see the purity of naked spirituality without lust and to me the benefits would be tremendous. Thanks for your comment and I will keep moving forward on this series. I think the next couple posts will deal more fully with what we are talking about here.
As usual you have raised several important points here. The fact that religion as practiced in the West is driven mostly by fear and dogma than spiritual practice is chief among them. The second is the lack of biblical knowledge and understanding of most western Christians who can only access the Bible through the lens of the dogma they have been taught. As a faithful follower of Jesus (Christian ) who has found liberation in clothes free living (nudism) and personal spirituality it is dad to see how this religion perspective with its focus on things that the Bible does not condemn turns so many away from the faith whose only “crime” is living clothes free. No one would accept me in Christian community where I live if they were aware probably couldn’t get work for same reason. But in order to have this perspective they must twist themselves into pretzels theologically to avoid the widespread acceptance of limited or no clothing in everyday live in the scriptures. Modern sensibilities driven by religious dogma takes precedence. It is an unfortunate situation but not one I expect to change anytime soon
I think that is why I urge each person to make a very responsible decision about nakedness in the context of spirituality. There must be a weighing of what is the best course of action overall and not just making a knee jerk reaction either way. Unfortunately Christianity in America has ‘leader syndrome’ and there is very little free thinking and spiritual consideration of most issues. Blessings and thanks for the comment.
Reblogged this on home clothes free.
Thanks for the reblog.
Hello there. This is my first time replying to one of your series, and may I say, I find the whole subject of nudity in Christianity intriguing. Now first off, I was raised a conservative Christian, a Roman Catholic, to be precise, and while nudity was certainly never encouraged in my home, it also was never expressly forbidden, most likely due to my father not really having an issue with the bare human form. For a while now I have been interested in the idea of nude prayer and nudity in Christianity in general, and I would be lying if I said that the idea first came to me exclusively from a Christian source. Rather, it was a combination of a group of nudist Christians I heard about on a television program and research into Wicca (which was purely academic, as I was looking for inspiration for my stories). I personally was intrigued by the witches’ nude worship, and wondered if this could be incorporated into my Christian faith without exposing myself to the taint of paganism. I know see, with a great deal of help from your series, that nudity before God is indeed not sinful, that it is, in fact, to be seen as a good thing, within the right context, of course.
Keep up the good work, and God Bless!
Ad maiorem Dei gloriam!
Thank you. This series and others has been eye opening for everyone as to the subject of nudity from a Biblical point of view is certainly not as cut and dry as most Christians think it is. Blessings and Cheers!