Since December 12 the right to circumcision has been reaffirmed in Germany.
The ruling by the district court of Cologne says circumcision "for the purpose of religious upbringing constitutes a violation of physical integrity". The judgement added: "The child's body is permanently and irreparably changed by the circumcision.
Circumcision is also standard in the United States and parts of Southeast Asia and Africa, but is rare in Europe, Latin America, and most of Asia. A personal preference in favor of circumcision is more common in Anglophone countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Christian Germans (whether devout or nominal) are rarely circumcised.
Most boys born in Australia around 1950 were circumcised. Since then, there has been a big move away from circumcision. Now less than 20% of Australian boys are circumcised. The only major western country where circumcision is very common is the United States.
Back in the 1950s, roughly 80 per cent of Australian men and boys were circumcised. That rate has steadily decreased and now, around 20 per cent of Australian newborns are circumcised.
Circumcision is not practiced among Italy's Roman Catholic majority. Many immigrants in Italy are Muslim and practice circumcision for cultural and religious reasons, but sometimes have trouble accessing the practice in hospitals. For some, the hospital costs are too high.
In Japan, routine male circumcision has never been implemented for newborns and children, and adult males are mostly circumcised at aesthetic clinics. However, media reports indicate a trend of Japanese mothers willing to have their sons circumcised.
However, in China, MC is not a common practice; less than 5% males are circumcised and many of these procedures were carried to alleviate medical complaints such as tight foreskin [12].
It is thus clear that there is no tradition of circumcision among the British royal family. If Prince Charles and the sons of George V were circumcised, it was not because Victoria believed herself descended from King David, and certainly not because a family circumcision tradition was introduced by George I.
The prevalence of circumcision varies widely in western countries led by the USA (71 per cent), New Zealand (33 per cent), Australia (27 per cent), the UK (21 per cent), France (14 per cent), Germany (11 per cent), Sweden (5 per cent), Italy (3 per cent) and Ireland (1 per cent).
European countries consider newborn circumcision an unnecessary surgical procedure which increases the costs of operating nationalised health systems, whereas in the US, circumcision is generally considered a simple, rapid operation with medical benefits which accrue throughout life.
Roman Catholic Church
Pope Pius XII taught that circumcision is only "[morally] permissible if, in accordance with therapeutic principles, it prevents a disease that cannot be countered in any other way."
When the foreskin is removed, it is commonly known locally as a "German cut" in reference to the introduction of the modern surgical technique by the founder of plastic and reconstructive surgery, Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach.
Today, many Christian denominations are neutral about ritual male circumcision, not requiring it for religious observance, but neither forbidding it for cultural or other reasons.
Like all Christian European nations, Sweden does not practice male circumcision. Muslim and Jewish immigrants, however, have brought their circumcision practices into Sweden. This clash of cultures has created tension and conflict between Swedish human rights principles and the blood rites of foreign religions.
Present. Rates vary widely, from over 90% in Israel and many Muslim-majority countries, 86.3% in South Korea, to 80% in the United States, to 58% in Australia, to 45% in South Africa, to 20.7% in the United Kingdom, to under 1% in Japan and Honduras.
In the middle of the last century, most Canadian boys were circumcised. However, the rate of neonatal circumcision has declined over time to the current Canadian average of 32%, with significant regional variability.
Hispanics in the USA have the lowest rates of circumcision of all ethnic groups and have some of the highest rates of several sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including heterosexual human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.
Conclusion: The highest-quality studies suggest that medical male circumcision has no adverse effect on sexual function, sensitivity, sexual sensation, or satisfaction.
The Royal Australasian College says routine infant circumcision is not warranted in Australia or New Zealand; but it also recognises the procedure continues as a religious or cultural ritual.
Today, the procedure is performed less commonly in New Zealand (estimated at less than 10% of boys), mostly for social, cultural or religious reasons. It is generally agreed among medical professionals that, except in a few instances, there is no medical reason for routine circumcision.
We found 15.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 14.7 to 17.1) of British men aged 16–44 years reported being circumcised in Natsal 2000. Age specific prevalence was greatest among men aged 40–44 years (19.6%, 95% CI 16.8 to 22.7) compared to those aged 16–19 years (11.7%, 95% CI 9.0 to 15.2).