Historically, the Roman Catholic Church denounced religious circumcision for its members in the Cantate Domino, written during the 11th Council of Florence in 1442, warning of loss of salvation for converts who observe it.
Catholic theology since the Second Vatican Council has increasingly emphasized that God's covenant with the Jewish people remains valid. It has never been revoked. This covenant includes infant male circumcision.
Indeed, while the topic of mutilation has been discussed within Catholic moral theology for many centuries, at no point has any pope or council condemned circumcision as mutilation.
Prevalence strongly varied across religious groups, with 92.4% of Muslims being circumcised, 1.7% of Roman Catholics, 0% of other religious affiliations (Evangelic, Serbian Orthodox, other), and 7.1% of those with no religious affiliation.
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).
Warning Against Circumcision
4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love.
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.
The commandment to circumcise was a covenant made with Abraham and is recorded in Genesis 17:10–14, reading: 'And God spoke to Abraham saying: … This is my covenant which you shall keep between me and you and thy seed after you — every male child among you shall be circumcised.
Genital Autonomy
And the strongest argument against infant circumcision is that it is a human rights violation: An amputation of a functioning part of a child's genitals, without his consent. As parents you will make many, many decisions for your son, but no one, not even parents, should have the right to harm a child.
Islam is the largest religious group to practice male circumcision. As an Abrahamic faith, Islamic people practice circumcision as a confirmation of their relationship with God, and the practice is also known as 'tahera', meaning purification.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
For Muslims, male circumcision is performed for religious reasons, mainly to follow the sunnah (practice) of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Moreover, there are attempts to label it as a contributor to cleanliness / personal hygiene. These are done largely to grant the practice scientific legitimacy and a moral foundation.
Circumcision is a surgical operation to remove skin or tissue from the genitals. All forms of female circumcision are illegal in Australia.
Our study found that most men surveyed were satisfied about their circumcision status, regardless of whether they were circumcised or not. We addressed regret directly in our survey and found that there was no statistically significant difference in regret among circumcised males as compared to uncircumcised males.
Detractors, meanwhile, argue that circumcision is akin to female genital mutilation. They say that the procedure is painful to newborns, that it carries a risk of complications like infection, and that it can reduce sexual pleasure later in life.
Burial of a Fetus: The decision is a personal one to be made by the couple or woman involved. Circumcision: For an infant, this is a personal matter for the parents to decide. Hemodialysis: Hemodialysis is a matter for each Witness patient to decide conscientiously when no blood prime is used.
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.
Medical reasons for circumcision
no risk of infants and children getting infections under the foreskin. easier genital hygiene. much lower risk of getting cancer of the penis (although this is a very rare condition and good genital hygiene also seems to reduce the risk.
The possible medical benefits of circumcision include: A lower risk of HIV. A slightly lower risk of other sexually transmitted diseases. A slightly lower risk of urinary tract infections and penile cancer.
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.
According to Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī jurists both male and female circumcision are legally obligatory for Muslims, although Ḥanafī jurists also consider circumcision to be recommendable exclusively for Muslim males on the seventh day after birth.