A Nicodemite (/ˌnɪkəˈdiːmaɪt/)[1] is a person suspected of publicly misrepresenting their religious faith to conceal their true beliefs.[2][3] The term is sometimes defined as referring to a Protestant Christian who lived in a Roman Catholic country and escaped persecution by concealing their Protestantism.[4][5]
The word is normally a term of disparagement. Introduced into 16th-century religious discourse, it persisted in use into the 18th century and beyond. Originally employed mostly by Protestants, it was usually applied to persons of publicly conservative religious position and practice who were thought to be secretly humanistic or reformed.
In England during the 17th and 18th centuries the term was often applied to those suspected of secret Socinian, Arian, or Deist beliefs.[6]
- ^ "Nicodemite". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
- ^ Overell 2004, pp. 117-118.
- ^ Livingstone 2000
- ^ "Definition of NICODEMITE".
[...] a secret follower or adherent[;] specifically : a 16th century Protestant Christian who lived in a Roman Catholic country and escaped persecution by concealing his or her Protestantism
- ^ "Nicodemism".
The term Nicodemite, derived from Nicodemus, who visited Jesus by night, generally denotes a secret or timid adherent. J. Calvin applied it to those converts to Protestantism in Catholic France who outwardly continued RC practices. In modern times Nicodemism covers all forms of religious simulation.
- ^ Snobelen 1999.