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.
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.
According to the World Health Organization, circumcision is most common in North Africa, West Africa, and the Middle East. In these areas, more than 80% of men and boys are circumcised. Malaysia, the Philippines, and South Korea also have high circumcision rates.
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.
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.
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.
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].
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."
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).
Conclusion: The highest-quality studies suggest that medical male circumcision has no adverse effect on sexual function, sensitivity, sexual sensation, or satisfaction.
Circumcision Rates. Among the 192 men who answered the question, 32 (16.7%) reported being circumcised (Table 1); the percentage was lower among the Polish students as compared to other nationalities (4.6% vs. 42.6%, respectively), p < 0.0001.
German men may differ from one another in many ways, but in one aspect they are strikingly uniform: very few of them are circumcised. This may not come as a shock given the low circumcision rates throughout Europe.
Because male circumcision is so common in the states, few Americans realize how rare it is most everywhere else. The practice has fallen by the wayside in Australia, Canada, Britain and New Zealand, and fewer than one-fifth of all male Europeans 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.
l The Lebanese population is divided into two main religious groups: Christians and Moslems who are living under more or less the same general conditions. The cir- cumcision status of men is different in the two groups, for Moslems practice circumcision of their boys early in life; Christians rarely do so.
Most ritual circumcisions in Norway are performed on boys less than one year old, often soon after birth.
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).
Three-quarters of American adult men are circumcised. There are over one million procedures each year, or around one every 30 seconds.
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.
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.
Although circumcision in South Korea has been strongly influenced by American culture, it has never been predominantly neonatal. The age at circumcision has continued to decrease and boys are now circumcised at approximately 12 years old.
In Finland circumcisions are carried out for religious purposes by members of the Jewish, Muslim and Tartar communities. Estimates are that currently about 200 operations are performed annually.