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.
As in all other European countries, male circumcision is uncommon in Italy, a country with a strong Catholic heritage that values and promotes the integrity of the human body.
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.
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."
In the Old Testament circumcision is clearly defined as a covenant between God and all Jewish males. 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.
Amish who do not practice circumcision have a low rate of autism. Somali immigrants in Sweden practice circumcision and have a high rate of autism compared to Swedish children.
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. This is largely due to developments in modern medicine.
France (14%)
In France, according to a telephone survey (TNS Sofres Institute, 2008), 14% of men are circumcised.
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.
A century ago the practice of routine neonatal circumcision in the USA and the UK (especially among wealthier families) was aligned. However, in the last 70 years rates have dropped in both countries but the majority of boys in the USA still undergo the procedure, while the opposite is true across the Atlantic.
The incidence of circumcision was highest in the men aged 40-44 at 19.6 percent [born 1956-60] and lowest in the group aged 16-19 [born 1981-84] at 11.7 percent. Men of ethnic minorities (except black Caribbeans) were signficantly more likely to circumcised than those described as "white".
Thailand has some experience with circumcision as Muslim boys are circumcised in a pre-adolescent religious ritual. In addition, for-profit hospitals that cater to a foreign and wealthy clientele provide NMC [17]. However, the majority (~ 90%) Buddhist population does not practice either MC or child circumcision.
In China, the nation with the largest population in the world, circumcision is generally treated as a selective medical intervention to treat some diseases; only 2.66% of males have been circumcised, and EIMC is not a traditional practice, except among Muslims, who account for < 3% of the population [14].
The CDC researchers estimated total circumcision prevalence to be 80.5% (Table 1). Racial differences were apparent: Prevalence was 90.8% in non-Hispanic white, 75.7% in non-Hispanic black, and 44.0% in Mexican American males.
Slavic Russians are not usually circumcised. Most non-Jewish Russians don't really think much about circumcision. In terms of cleanliness, I should mention that many men are not really good with washing under their foreskins and it creates a very awful smell. Men who are circumcised don't have to worry about that.
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.
The rate of circumcision in Muslim nations is between 90 and 100 percent. This includes the Christians who form a significant part of some Arab states.
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.
Subincision of the penis is a traditional ritual mutilation unique to the Aborigines, the indigenous people of Australia. The mutilation is a urethrotomy in which the undersurface of the penis is incised and the urethra slit open lengthwise. Subincision is one element in the initiation of Aboriginal youths.
In Australia today, fewer than 20 per cent of boys are circumcised. When considering circumcision for your child, you should be aware of the possible risks and benefits.
"Certainly in Australia we believe the benefits of circumcision don't outweigh the risks." He said the kinds of illnesses circumcision may help prevent are not common in Australia and are mostly a product of social factors, not foreskin length.
Both Muslims and Jews circumcise their male children. 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.
In the Netherlands thousands of boys, both Jewish and Muslim, are circumcised for religious reasons every year. Estimates range between 10,000 and 15,000 circumcisions carried out in this country annually.
The Greek Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church do not advocate circumcision among their adherents, but celebrate the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ on 1 January, while Orthodox churches following the Julian calendar celebrate it on Gregorian 14 January.