There are a number of passages near the beginning of Genesis that might be considered to have a relationship to social nudism:
Genesis 2 Adam was created from mud, and Eve was created from one of Adam's ribs. Both had remained naked in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:25 states: "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." (KJV).
Genesis 3:7 "Then the eyes of both [Adam and Eve] were opened and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." (NIV)
There is an ambiguity in the original Hebrew text over the word translated here as naked. It may be:
eromim which means to be naked, without clothes, or
arumim which means the uncovering of deceptions
Genesis and the rest of the Torah was written using only consonants, with no letters or signs indicating vowels. Thus "eromim" and "arumim" appear the same in the Hebrew text, as rmm.
The Hebrew word translated here as coverings is chagowr which literally means a belt for the waist. But some translators of the Bible into English seem to have recoiled from the thought of Eve walking around topless, wearing just a belt. The King James and Revised Standard Versions both mention "aprons" which could have covered most of their bodies. The Modern Language version describes them as "skirts". The Living Bible mentions that they covered "themselves around the hips" The New American Standard Bible calls them "loin coverings." The NIV translation is particularly obscure; they refer simply to "coverings" without defining what type was used. In spite of what the NIV translators wrote, it is obvious that Eve went topless.
Genesis 3:10-11: God called for Adam, who replied: "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." God answered: "Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?" (KJV).
There are many conflicting interpretations to the significance of nudity in these passages:
Some interpret that passages as implying that Adam and Eve had once lived a sinless life. But after eating the fruit, their thoughts became selfish. They lost their unconditional, pure love for each other and began to look upon their partner as sex objects -- as a body to exploit in order to satisfy their sexual appetite. Their clothing might have been intended to protect themselves from the other.
Some suggest that the act of covering of their body was a metaphor. It symbolized their real need to try to hide their sin from God.
Some feel that Adam and Eve were so embarrassed by their nudity that they had to create clothes to hide their genitals. However, that interpretation seems unlikely, because Adam and Eve would have been used to seeing each other naked continually since Eve was created. They would hardly suddenly become embarrassed in each other's presence.
Some Christians interpret the passage as implying that once Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, sin entered the world, that nudity became intrinsically sinful. Adam and Eve then wished to be clothed when they became aware of their sin.
Another explanation was that the aprons would give them at least some form of physical protection when they were expelled from the Garden of Eden into a barren land. Perhaps the belts would facilitate the carrying of knives to ward off dangerous animals.
Still another interpretation of the passage is that Adam and Eve's eating of the forbidden fruit gave them knowledge. God had created them as a type of proto-human, without the knowledge of good and evil, and without much knowledge of themselves and their surroundings. In some magical way, the eating of the fruit brought them instant knowledge of morality: of good and bad. They became fully human, It may have also brought them knowledge of how sexual intercourse can lead to procreation. They realized the tremendous magical power of sex. They decided that their sexual organs were so powerful and mysterious that they should be covered.
Religious liberals tend to interpret the first part of Genesis as a series of religious myths. They are stories of great spiritual significance, but unrelated to any historical happenings. The passage about Adam and Eve wearing a belt might simply be a myth that the author(s) included to account for the embarrassment that youth and adults often feel when they are naked in the presence of the opposite gender.
Others refer to a Pagan Babylonian religious text, the Gilgamesh epic. It contains a passage that is very close parallel to the Genesis story. It involves Enkidu and a harlot who received sexual knowledge as a result of eating the forbidden fruit. This caused them to be embarrassed at their nudity. The Epic was written many centuries before Genesis. Religious liberals generally assume that parts of Genesis were copied from The Gilgamesh epic. This would include the stories of the forbidden fruit, the clothing, and the universal flood.
References:
"The Little Flowers of St. Francis", Part I, Chapter 30.