Neo-Adamites

Jan Zizka eradicated the Bohemian Neo-Adamites during the Hussite Wars of the 14th century

Neo-Adamite was a label given to three unrelated Christian sects in Europe between the 13th and 17th centuries. The term originated from an ancient group of Christian nudists called the Adamites, who lived from the 2nd to the 4th centuries.

Dutch Neo-Adamites

In the 13th century, certain factions within the heretical sect known as the Brethren of the Free Spirit held a ritual of stripping naked in the belief that perfection could be achieved by a return to the perfect love of Adam and Eve, where there were no clothes. This was not a widespread practice within the Free Spirits and all evidence for it comes from biased Roman Catholic sources in the Netherlands.

Taborite Neo-Adamites

In 14th century Bohemia, the pre-protestant movement known as the Hussites contained a radical anti-establishment faction known as the Taborites. The Taborites believed that the Roman Catholic church had abandoned it's apostolic and scriptural foundations, and therefore they sought to found a new Church and a new society upon the provisions given them by the Bible. This meant many moved out into the country to found their own settlements and live in perfect harmony, owning all things in common like the Apostles had done in Acts 2:44.

Within the Taborite movement, an extremely obscure sect arose which believed not only in following the footsteps to the Apostles but also in following the footsteps to the Garden of Eden. Accordingly they practiced nudity as a means of returning to the innocence of Adam and Eve. This practice, however, was extremely limited and considered heretical by other Hussites.

The Neo-Adamite faction was eventually crushed by the Taborite military leader Jan Zizka, who eradicated them as part of his efforts to eliminate heretical elements within the Hussite movement.

British Neo-Adamites

The splintering of Protestantism during the English Civil War in the 17th century saw Adamites recorded in the Catalogue of the Several Sects and Opinions in England. Whether there truly was a Neo-Adamite movement in Britain during this time cannot be said for certain, however they are never referenced again apart from a comment in passing by the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell, who claimed that "secret Churches of nakedness" were "in error."