Many in the textile world who denigrate the naturist subculture would choke on their self-righteousness upon learning that there’s a growing number of faithful Christians who are also nudists. We wanted to find out more about this segment of our community and thus felt it appropriate to ask John Kundert, editor of the Fig Leaf Forum, based in Winnipeg, Canada.

Nudist Day: How many people are members of the Fig Leaf forum?
Fig Leaf Forum: Fig Leaf Forum is a publication rather than a group or organization, and as such it has subscribers rather than members. The last edition of Fig Leaf Forum was mailed to 1351 households. Of those, 56 received the printed edition and 1295 received the e-mail edition. While most subscribers reside in the United States and Canada, Fig Leaf Forum also has a number of readers living in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

ND: How many Christian nudists are there in North America?
FLF: Honestly, I would have no way of knowing. I have been contacted by more than 3400 individuals during the 12+ years that Fig Leaf Forum has been in print. That would certainly suggest that interest in Christian nudism extends well beyond the present circulation of my newsletter. I suspect that there are probably thousands more out there who currently believe, as I once did, that they’re the only Christian nudists on earth.

ND: Has there been a lot of friction between Christian nudists and Christian non-nudists?
FLF: Such friction happens, but it’s by no means common. Christian nudists tend to keep a very low profile for the most part. The main reason for this, I think, is to avoid potential misunderstandings which could lead to such friction. Most of North American society appears to be heavily influenced by cultural gymnophobia, and I think this is certainly true among the majority of Christians. Many of us try to educate our fellow believers when and where we can, but few are willing to take a more public stand since doing so would likely jeopardize long established relationships within their church communities.

ND: There’s Christian groups in various parts of the world fighting nudists. Have Christian nudists tried to reach out to them?
FLF: I’m not so sure that there are that many Christian groups who are actively fighting nudists in North America, but there are certainly many individuals, groups and ministries who disagree with and even condemn social nudism. As Fig Leaf Forum’s editor, I have responded to objections made by numerous Christian critics over the years, even once engaging in a formal written debate now published on Fig Leaf Forum’s web site. These responses have consistently been Scripture-based, well-reasoned and civil in both tone and character. Nevertheless, with only a couple of rare exceptions the critics involved have remained unmoved in their opposition to both social nudism and Christian participation within it.

ND: Are there any references to nakedness in the New Testament books? By Jesus?
FLF: There are numerous references to both literal and figurative nakedness in the New Testament. Some references are explicit, while others are veiled. Jesus discusses literal nakedness when He talks about the Christian’s responsibility for meeting the needs of the destitute in Matthew 25, for instance, while in Revelation 3 He uses figurative nakedness as a way to point out spiritual destitution. In one passage we find Jesus talking with Peter as he fished naked (John 21.7), while in another Jesus mentions the naked worker in the field (Matthew 24.18). Paul made a veiled reference to the nakedness common to athletic competitions in his day as he encouraged believers to persevere in the faith (Hebrews 12.1). Neither Jesus nor Paul nor any other Biblical character or writer ever criticizes or condemns simple, voluntary non-sexual nakedness in Scripture. Neither, it should be noted, do any of them commend it. Such nakedness simply was. What’s absent in these passages (and those few noted above are by no means a complete list) are references to mixed-sex nakedness like one would find at a nude beach or nudist resort today. Though unmentioned in Scripture, such nakedness did in fact exist in Bible times, as numerous scholars and historians will attest. “Bathing in the ancient world, especially in the world of the Romans,” writes Fikret Yegul in his book Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity, “went far beyond the functional and hygienic necessities of washing. It was a personal regeneration and a deeply rooted social and cultural habit — in the full sense of the word, an institution. For the average Roman a visit to the public baths in the afternoon was an irreplaceable part of the day’s routine…. It would have been unrealistic to expect the Church to take a consistent stance against an institution that had become a deeply ingrained part of daily life.” Roy Bowen Ward, author of “Women in Roman Baths” (published in the Harvard Theological Review), concurs: “It is clear from Clement that in Alexandria at the end of the second century — contemporaneous with Irenaeus and Tertullian — mixed bathing by all classes was not only customary but also a popular activity in which Christian men and women engaged.”

ND: Would it be accurate to say you’re nudists because you’re Christians?
FLF: I doubt that the majority of Christian nudists would make such a claim. Organized social nudism in North America is predominantly secular in nature, and thus it’s clear that faith is not the primary motivating factor behind the average nudist’s interest in the lifestyle. I was a Christian for many years before becoming a nudist. Though I had carefully studied Scripture beforehand to be sure social nudism was not contrary to God’s intentions for my life, it was only after becoming a nudist that I began to sense how compatible the practice actually was with my faith.

ND: Could it also be said that your nakedness makes you closer to God? Or, honors God?
FLF: I think that many if not most Christian nudists believe that chaste, reverent social nakedness does indeed honor God and engender feelings of closeness to Him. I once wrote this in Fig Leaf Forum: “I find extraordinary irony in the idea of Christians praising God as the glorious Creator of the universe and everything in it, piously acknowledging God’s personal involvement in our own creation as human beings, only to then spare no effort in covering this very creation with fabric and shame. This incongruity, I believe, betrays a profound lack of reverence, something defined by dictionaries as a feeling of deep respect mixed with wonder, awe and love. By their very nature, reverence and shame are mutually exclusive…. I once mused within these pages that rather than being ashamed of their nakedness, Christians might more properly be ashamed of being ashamed of their nakedness. For more and more of God’s people, acceptance of their nakedness has been the beginning of a true sense of reverence for Him as their personal Creator. Christian nudists are showing the way.”

ND: What are some of the more important Christian nudist communities in North America?
FLF: Beyond a few small groups which meet regularly for fellowship, there are no “Christian nudist communities” as such in North America. Christian owned or operated nudist parks and resorts do exist here, but they are few in number and none serve Christian nudists exclusively. Most Christian nudists enjoy the use of secular parks, the majority of which are family-oriented and well-run. Visiting secular resorts offers Christian nudists the added opportunity to be “salt and light” to those around them, and they are often blessed with chances to share the Gospel with fellow nudists who are willing to receive it.

ND: Are there conferences planned?
FLF: There were several annual conferences held in the late 90’s and again in the early years of this decade in the eastern United States. The first of these conferences attracted nationwide media attention, most of which was positive. Plans are currently in the works for two Christian nudist conferences to be held this summer in the United States (in Tennessee and Missouri). Fig Leaf Forum has often helped to publicize these events, but was not and is not involved in their planning or operation.

Related Stories:

• Why are Nudists so Spiritual?

Related Links:

• Fig Leaf Forum web site
• A Christian nudist’s personal web site
• Christian Naturist Bible Fellowship of Spokane