Most Israeli men are circumcised, reflecting the Biblical commandment to perform brit mila – Convent with G-d – for Jews and religious tradition for Muslims and Druze (Wyner Mark 2003. 2003. The Covenant of Circumcision: The New Perspectives on an Ancient Jewish Rite.
Nearly all baby boys in Israel are circumcised. Be their parents ultra-Orthodox or totally secular Jews, it is by far the most common choice. Most Israeli-Arabs also keep with a practice that is widespread in the Muslim world. Jewish circumcisions are done when the baby is eight days old.
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).
The biblical explanation for this commandment states quite clearly that the circumcision acts as an outward physical sign of the eternal covenant between God and the Jewish people.
With the exception of the commemoration of the circumcision of Jesus in accordance with Jewish practice, circumcision has not been part of Catholic practice.
Why is Christianity the only Abrahamic religion that doesn't encourage circumcision? Because Paul believed faith was more important than foreskin. Shortly after Jesus' death, his followers had a disagreement over the nature of his message.
Circumcision rates around the world
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.
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.
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 Israel, neonatal male circumcision is routine practice. According to Jewish law, circumcision is the physical representation of the covenant between God and Abraham described in the Old Testament and is required for the inclusion of males in the Jewish faith.
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 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.
Conclusion: The highest-quality studies suggest that medical male circumcision has no adverse effect on sexual function, sensitivity, sexual sensation, or satisfaction.
MC is not commonly practiced by the Chinese. While the prevalence of MC worldwide is almost 30%, only 5% of Chinese males are circumcised [12].
In Turkey, most of the population is Muslim, and almost all males are circumcised; however, in contrast to Western societies, circumcision is performed at older ages in the Turkish population (3). Circumcision is also considered to be a symbol of a boy entering into manhood and his ability to reproduce.
In the UK, around one-third of men were circumcised just before the introduction of the National Health Service in 1948. But the newly-created NHS ruled that circumcision was not medically necessary, and therefore would not be covered.
Is male circumcision for babies common in the UK? It's estimated that approximately 20% of males in the UK are circumcised (Morris et al, 2016).
Circumcision in Spain is only performed in case of medical necessity (in case there's some actual medical problem caused by the foreskin), or by those of religious minorities (Jews, Muslims).
Compared to Scottish men, nationals from non-European countries (the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) were more likely to be circumcised (13.1 percent vs. 50.0 percent, respectively, p<0.001).
Moreover, it seems that circumcision of Jewish infants is accepted by the majority of the Polish society, although practiced only by a small part of it. It can be, thus, recognized that circumcision is a socially accepted custom.
Results: Jesus Christ was circumcised as a Jew on the 8th day after his birth. Until 1960 the Catholic church celebrated the day as Circumcision Day. In medieval times the holy foreskin was worshipped in many European churches.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "Except when performed for strictly therapeutic medical reasons, directly intended amputations, mutilations and sterilizations performed on innocent persons are against moral law" (N. 2297). Elective circumcision clearly violates that standard.
Circumcision is not laid down as a requirement in the New Testament. Instead, Christians are urged to be "circumcised of the heart" by trusting in Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. As a Jew, Jesus was himself circumcised (Luke 2:21; Colossians 2:11-12).