Catholicism and Naturism - What does the Catholic Church

Think?
Problems Pertaining to Catholicism and Naturism:
Current thinking within the Roman Catholic Church opposes the practice of naturism or
naturism, as some professionals choose to call it, seeing the practice in battle with one of the
key principles of Catholicism, modesty. The Church traces this value back to a number of
twelve desirable character traits listed in the biblical Book of Galatians.
Modesty is viewed as a sort of self respect and admiration for others with naturism an
immediate contradiction to these principles. The need for garments also can be traced back
to the biblical creation myth wherein God clothed Adam and Eve, the progenitors of
humankind in this tradition, after they gained knowledge of good and evil through
disobedience. The fundamental principle here is that nudity is considered bad.
Historically, Catholic toleration for nudity of any sort has grown and waned. During the
Renaissance Age, best remembered for the works of artists like Michelangelo, works of art
and statuary depicting nude figures occasionally drew criticism from the Church hierarchy.
Specifically, the nudity depicted in the Sistine Chapel drew condemnation from Pope Adrian
VI and other highly placed members of the clergy.
The Pope desired to see the images stripped totally; nonetheless, only a couple of pictures
were transformed in later years to hide naked images in accordance with the official amount,
connected with the Council of Trent in 1563, condemning the use of nudity in spiritual art.
Today, the Sistine Chapel is one of the most visited and revered places open to public
viewing via the Vatican Museums. The artistic nudity depicted here is not a point of major
controversy. The museum, including the chapel, have become a source of sales and positive
public relations for the Church.
In the early twentieth century, some small scale reversal was found in policies toward nudity,
including permission in the Abbe of a catholic school in France who encouraged unclothed
sunbathing near Marseilles 1907. This example failed to represent a change in church
doctrine, but instead an exception to the rule of It combined the superficial nature of media
portrayals of girls with the reality of my nude form. "Label" is the epitome of what I was
initially trying to execute with starting my transformation; fitting into these idealized ideals of
the body in a useless effort. within the spiritual sphere.
Even as naturism grew in popularity in society as a whole during this period, the movement
was largely separate in the of religion, particularly traditional Catholicism.
Portrait of Adam & Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder
In 1935, according to Time magazine, in speech just prior to Lent, Pope Pius XI declared
special condemnation of naturism as a form of paganism in addition to equating the practice
with blasphemy. At precisely the same time in US, the state legislature of New York made it
illegal to show private parts in public, thereby outlawing naturism. The law received
widespread opposition from the public, especially humanists; nevertheless, the National
Catholic Welfare Conference expressed their support of the anti-naturism provision. This
organization as such no longer exists.
Again returning to modern day, the official position by the Church is that naturism is
unethical. Yet, nudists who are practicing Catholics continue to exist as well as participate in

naturist groups online where they self-disclose their religious association. Essentially,
Catholics continue to practice naturism and embrace nudity even without support or effective
toleration from their religious organization or its hierarchy. A dynamic disagreement exists
online over the matter with no sign of resolution in sight. The Church often voices its
objections to festivals and occasions including naturism, even in European nations in addition
to in the US.
Clip from National Geographic's show "Taboo: Nudity," featuring a bunch of Catholic
naturists who worship in Guest Blog: Making A Naturist Documentary Film with FKK .
Catholicism and Naturism By FKK was published by - Young Naturists and Young Nudists
America FKK
Tags: christianity, the bible
Classification: Nudism and Naturism, Faith and Nudity, Societal Nudity Sites
About the Writer (Author Profile)
Jordan Blum is a lifelong nudie and cofounder of Nudist Portal.