{{short description|Circumcision for religious purposes}} {{About|religious circumcision|the history of circumcision|History of circumcision|the Early Christian controversy|Circumcision controversy in early Christianity|prevalence of male circumcision|Prevalence of circumcision}} {{redirect-distinguish|Religious views on circumcision|religious views on female circumcision}}{{Religious freedom}} '''Religious circumcision''' is generally performed shortly after birth, during childhood, or around puberty as part of a rite of passage. Circumcision for religious reasons is most frequently practiced in Judaism and Islam. In some African and Eastern Christian denominations male circumcision is an established practice, and require that their male members undergo circumcision.<ref>{{cite book|title=Cultural Encyclopedia of the Body [2 volumes]|first=Victoria |last=Pitts-Taylor|year= 2008| isbn= 978-1-56720-691-3| page =394|publisher=ABC-CLIO|quote=For most part, Christianity does not require circumcision of its followers. Yet, some Orthodox and African Christian groups do require circumcision. These circumcisions take place at any point between birth and puberty.}}</ref> {{TOC limit}}
==Abrahamic religions==
=== Rastafari === Rastafari beliefs on circumcision are often rooted in the Old testament ideas of one's body as a temple. Unnecessarily removing part of your body is seen as damaging and in conflict with living naturally.<ref>{{Cite web |last=David |first=Erin |date=April 22, 1998 |title=Nature in the Rastafarian Consciousness |url=https://www.uvm.edu/~debate/dreadlibrary/david.html |access-date=2025-07-29 |website=www.uvm.edu |quote="...they use too much weapons, too much surgery which destroys the natural, the harmonious flow of life within one's system."}}</ref>
===Judaism=== {{Excerpt|Brit milah|paragraphs=1-3}}
==== Alternative practice ==== Brit shalom (Hebrew: ברית שלום; "Covenant of Peace") is an alternative naming ceremony that does not involve circumcision.
===Christianity=== {{See|Paul the Apostle and Jewish Christianity|Christian views on the Old Covenant}}
==== Ancient church ==== {{Excerpt|Circumcision controversy in early Christianity|only=paragraphs}}
==== Modern Christianity ==== [[File:20050921circoncisionB.jpg|thumb|"Scène de la circoncision de Jésus", a sculpture in the Cathedral of Chartres.]]
Circumcision is considered a customary practice among Oriental Christian denominations such as the Coptic, Ethiopian, and Eritrean Orthodox churches.<ref name="Christian">Customary in some Coptic and other churches: *"The Coptic Christians in Egypt and the Ethiopian Orthodox Christians—two of the oldest surviving forms of Christianity—retain many of the features of early Christianity, including circumcision. Circumcision is not prescribed in other forms of Christianity... Some Christian churches in South Africa oppose the practice, viewing it as a pagan ritual, while others, including the Nomiya church in Kenya, require circumcision for membership and participants in focus group discussions in Zambia and Malawi mentioned similar beliefs that Christians should practice circumcision since Jesus was circumcised and the Bible teaches the practice." *"The decision that Christians need not practice circumcision is recorded in {{Bibleverse|Acts|15}}; there was never, however, a prohibition of circumcision, and it is still practiced by Coptic Christians." [http://www.bartleby.com/65/ci/circumci.html "circumcision"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808051655/http://www.bartleby.com/65/ci/circumci.html |date=2007-08-08 }}, The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001-05.</ref> The practice is near-universal in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.<ref name="WHO_2007_GTDPSA">{{cite web |year=2007 |title=Male circumcision: Global trends and determinants of prevalence, safety and acceptability |url=http://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/jc1360_male_circumcision_en_0.pdf |publisher=World Health Organization}}</ref> Some Christian churches in South Africa oppose circumcision, viewing it as a pagan ritual, while others, including the Nomiya church in Kenya,<ref name="Christian" /><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Mattson | first1 = CL | last2 = Bailey | first2 = RC | last3 = Muga | first3 = R | last4 = Poulussen | first4 = R | last5 = Onyango | first5 = T | year = 2005 | title = Acceptability of male circumcision and predictors of circumcision preference among men and women in Nyanza province Kenya | journal = AIDS Care | volume = 17 | issue = 2| pages = 182–194 | doi=10.1080/09540120512331325671| pmid = 15763713 | s2cid = 22917530 }}</ref> require circumcision. It is common in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria.<ref name="WHO_2007_GTDPSA" />[[File:Ethiopian Orthodox male circumcision ceremony.jpg|thumb|left|Ethiopian Orthodox children wearing traditional circumcision costumes]] Circumcision is widely practiced among Christian communities in the Anglosphere, Oceania,<ref name="Circumcision amongst the Dogon">{{cite web | url = http://www.necep.net/articles.php?id_soc=12&id_article=84 | title = Circumcision amongst the Dogon | access-date = 2006-09-03 | year = 2006 | publisher = The Non-European Components of European Patrimony (NECEP) Database | archive-date = 2006-01-16 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060116174702/http://www.necep.net/articles.php?id_soc=12&id_article=84 | url-status = usurped }}</ref> South Korea, the Philippines, and the Middle East.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/19456997e17c4a12a24abb9d11c01dba|title=Circumcision protest brought to Florence|publisher=Associated Press|date=March 30, 2008|quote=However, the practice is still common among Christians in the United States, Oceania, South Korea, the Philippines, the Middle East and Africa. Some Middle Eastern Christians actually view the procedure as a rite of passage.}}</ref> Circumcision is rare in Europe, East Asia, as well as in India. Christians in the East and West Indies (excluding the Philippines) do not practice it. <!-- does Oceania include Australia? --> Circumcision is also widely practiced among Christian communities in Philippines, South Korea,<ref name=riggs_2006>{{cite book |author=Thomas Riggs |title=Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices: Religions and denominations |chapter=Christianity: Coptic Christianity |year=2006 |publisher=Thomson Gale |isbn=978-0-7876-6612-5 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uTMOAQAAMAAJ}}</ref> Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, and North Africa.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Bakos|first1=Gergely Tibor|title=On Faith, Rationality, and the Other in the Late Middle Ages:: A Study of Nicholas of Cusa's Manuductive Approach to Islam |date=2011 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|isbn= 978-1-60608-342-0|page=228 |language=English |quote=Although it is stated that circumcision is not a sacrament necessary for salvation, this rite is accepted for the Ethiopian Jacobites and other Middle Eastern Christians.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=J. Sharkey|first1=Heather |title=A History of Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Middle East|date=2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-76937-2|page=63 |language=English |quote= On the Coptic Christian practice of male circumcision in Egypt, and on its practice by other Christians in western Asia.}}</ref>
The Lutheran Church and the Greek Orthodox Church celebrate the Circumcision of Christ on 1 January,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goarch.org/chapel/calendar?Y=2007&M=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213044716/http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/calendar.asp?Y=2007&M=1|title=April 2020|archive-date=February 13, 2008|website=www.goarch.org}}</ref> while Orthodox churches following the Julian calendar celebrate it on 14 January. All Orthodox churches consider it a "Great Feast".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/calendar/los/January/01-01.htm|title=The Circumcision (Obrezanie) of the Lord|website=www.holytrinityorthodox.com}}</ref> In much of Western Christianity, the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ has been replaced by other commemorations,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bcponline.org/|title=The Online Book of Common Prayer|website=www.bcponline.org}}</ref> such as the Solemnity of Mary in the Roman Catholic Church or the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus in the Lutheran Churches.<ref>{{cite web |title=Year A 2019/2020 |url=https://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/YearA_Christmas19-20.pdf?_ga=2.125316554.1582681901.1608768517-1527553699.1608768517 |publisher=Evangelical Lutheran Church in America |access-date=24 December 2020 |page=5 |language=en}}</ref> Exceptions, such as among most Traditionalist Catholics, who reject Novus Ordo and other changes following Vatican II to varying degrees, maintained the feast as a Holy day of obligation.{{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs a reliable source.|date=October 2020}}
According to Scholar Heather L. Armstrong of University of Southampton, about half of Christian males worldwide are circumcised, with most of them being located in Africa, Anglosphere countries (with notable prevalence in the United States) and the Philippines.<ref name="Armstrong">{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Sex and Sexuality: Understanding Biology, Psychology, and Culture [2 volumes]|first=Heather |last=L. Armstrong|year= 2021| isbn=978-1-61069-875-7| page =115-117|publisher=ABC-CLIO}}</ref> Many Christians have been circumcised for reasons such as family preferences, medical or cultural reasons.<ref name="Armstrong"/> Circumcision is also part of a traditional practice among the adherents of certain Oriental Christian denominations, including those of Coptic Christianity, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Eritrean Orthodox Church.<ref name="Armstrong"/>
==== Roman Catholic Church ==== 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.<ref name="Marie2016"/><ref name = "CoF">{{cite book| last = Eugenius IV| first = Pope| author-link = Pope Eugene IV| editor = Norman P. Tanner| title = Decrees of the ecumenical councils| orig-date = 1442| access-date = 2007-04-25| series = 2 volumes| year = 1990| publisher = Georgetown University Press| location = Washington, D.C.| isbn = 978-0-87840-490-2| language = el, la| chapter = Ecumenical Council of Florence (1438–1445): Session 11—4 February 1442; Bull of union with the Copts| chapter-url = http://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/FLORENCE.HTM#5| quote = [The Holy Roman Church] firmly believes, professes and teaches that the legal prescriptions of the Old Testament or the Mosaic law, which are divided into ceremonies, holy sacrifices and sacraments, because they were instituted to signify something in the future, although they were adequate for the divine cult of that age, once our Lord Jesus Christ who was signified by them had come, came to an end and the sacraments of the new Testament had their beginning. Whoever, after the Passion, places his hope in the legal prescriptions and submits himself to them as necessary for salvation and as if faith in Christ without them could not save, sins mortally. It does not deny that from Christ's passion until the promulgation of the Gospel they could have been retained, provided they were in no way believed to be necessary for salvation. But it asserts that after the promulgation of the gospel they cannot be observed without loss of eternal salvation. Therefore it denounces all who after that time observe circumcision, the [Jewish] sabbath and other legal prescriptions as strangers to the faith of Christ and unable to share in eternal salvation, unless they recoil at some time from these errors. Therefore it strictly orders all who glory in the name of Christian, not to practise circumcision either before or after baptism, since whether or not they place their hope in it, it cannot possibly be observed without loss of eternal salvation.| lccn = 90003209| archive-date = 2009-04-25| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090425150516/http://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/FLORENCE.HTM#5}}</ref> This decision was based on the belief that baptism had superseded circumcision ({{Bibleverse||Col|2:11-12}}),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03777a.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Circumcision|website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> and may also have been a response to Coptic Christians, who continued to practice circumcision.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=David Albert |title=Infant Male Circumcision |journal=The Linacre Quarterly |volume=85 |issue=1 |pages=49–62 |publisher=National Institutes of Health Search database Search term Clear input |pmc=6027118 |year=2018 |pmid=29970937 |doi=10.1177/0024363918761714 }}</ref>
Origen stated in his work ''Contra Celsum'' that circumcision "was discontinued by Jesus, who desired that His disciples should not practise it."<ref>{{cite book|author=Origen|title=Contra Celsum (Against Celus)|chapter=XXII}}</ref>
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."<ref>Pope Pius XII, Discorsi e messaggi radiodiffusi, t. XIV, Rome 1952, s. 328-329</ref>
On another occasion, he stated: {{quote|Furthermore, Christian doctrine establishes, and the light of human reason makes it most clear, that private individuals have no other power over the members of their own bodies than that which pertains to their natural ends: and they are not free to destroy or mutilate their members, or in any other way render themselves unfit for their natural functions, except when no other provision can be made for the good of the whole body.<ref>Pope Pius XII, "The Intangibility of the Human Person," September 14, 1952, in The Human Body: Papal Teachings, pp. 199-207.</ref>}}
The Church has been viewed as maintaining a neutral position on the practice of cultural circumcision, due to its policy of inculturation,<ref name="Slosar">{{cite journal |last=Slosar |first=J. P. |author2=D. O'Brien |year=2003 |title=The Ethics of Neonatal Male Circumcision: A Catholic Perspective |journal=American Journal of Bioethics |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=62–64 |doi=10.1162/152651603766436306 |pmid=12859824 |s2cid=38064474}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.catholicdoors.com/faq/qu340.htm | title=Frequently Asked Questions: The Catholic Church and Circumcision}}</ref> although some Catholic scholars argue that the church condemns it as "elective male infant circumcision not only violates the proper application of the time-honored principle of totality, but even fits the ethical definition of mutilation, which is gravely sinful."<ref name="Marie2016">{{cite web |last1=Marie |first1=André |title=Circumcision: An Acceptable Practice? |url=https://catholicism.org/ad-rem-no-283.html |publisher=The Catholic Thing |access-date=23 December 2020 |language=en |date=26 December 2016}}</ref>
Fr. John J. Dietzen, a priest and columnist, argued that [https://web.archive.org/web/20070629225324/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/CDHN/fifth.html#PERSONS paragraph number 2297 from the Catholic Catechism (Respect for bodily integrity)] makes the practice of elective and neonatal circumcision immoral.<ref>Father John J. Dietzen. The Morality of Circumcision. ''The Tablet'', Brooklyn, N.Y., 30 October 2004, p. 33.</ref> John Paul Slosar and Daniel O'Brien, counter that the therapeutic benefits of neonatal circumcision are inconclusive, but that recent findings that circumcision may prevent disease puts the practice outside the realm of paragraph 2297.<ref name="Slosar" /> They claim that the "Respect for bodily integrity" paragraph apply in the context of kidnapping, hostage-taking or torture, and that if circumcision is included, any removal of tissue or follicle could be considered a violation of moral law.<ref name="Slosar" /> The proportionality of harm versus benefit of medical procedures, as defined by Directives 29 and 33 of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (National Conference of Catholic Bishops),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usccb.org/bishops/directives.shtml |title=Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services |edition=Fourth |access-date=2008-04-11 |year=2001 |publisher=U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops |quote= '''Directive 29''' All persons served by Catholic health care have the right and duty to protect and preserve their bodily and functional integrity. The functional integrity of the person may be sacrificed to maintain the health or life of the person when no other morally permissible means is available. '''Directive 33''' The well-being of the whole person must be taken into account in deciding about any therapeutic intervention or use of technology. Therapeutic procedures that are likely to cause harm or undesirable side-effects can be justified only by a proportionate benefit to the patient.}}</ref> have been interpreted to support<ref name="Slosar" /> and reject<ref name="Fadel">{{cite journal |last=Fadel |first=P. |year=2003 |title=Respect for bodily integrity: a Catholic perspective on circumcision in Catholic hospitals |journal=American Journal of Bioethics |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=23–25 |pmid=12859800 |doi=10.1162/152651603766436379 |s2cid=41776096 }}</ref> circumcision. These arguments represent the conscience of the individual writers, and not official doctrine. The most recent statement from the Church was that of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: <blockquote> The Church of Antioch sent Barnabas on a mission with Paul, which became known as the Apostle's first missionary journey . . . Together with Paul, he then went to the so-called Council of Jerusalem where after a profound examination of the question, the Apostles with the Elders decided to discontinue the practice of circumcision so that it was no longer a feature of the Christian identity (cf. Acts 15: 1-35). It was only in this way that, in the end, they officially made possible the Church of the Gentiles, a Church without circumcision; we are children of Abraham simply through faith in Christ.<ref>Benedict XVI, [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20070131_en.html General Audience], Wednesday, 31, January 2007.</ref> </blockquote>
====Latter Day Saints==== Passages from scriptures connected with the Latter Day Saint movement (Mormons) explain that the "law of circumcision is done away" by Christ and thus unnecessary.<ref>Book of Moroni 8:8 and Doctrine and Covenants Section 74</ref><ref>Book of Mormon Student Manual, (2009), 395–400 ''[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/book-of-mormon-student-manual/chapter-55-moroni-8-9?lang=eng]''</ref>
===Druze === Circumcision is widely practiced by the Druze:<ref>{{cite book|title=The Druze and Their Faith in Tawhid| first=Anis|last=Ubayd|year= 2006| isbn=978-0-8156-3097-5| page =150|publisher=Syracuse University Press|quote=Male circumcision is standard practice, by tradition, among the Druze}}</ref> practiced as a cultural tradition, and has no religious significance.<ref>{{cite book|title=Israel and the Palestinian Territories: The Rough Guide| first=Daniel|last=Jacobs|year= 1998| isbn=978-1-85828-248-0| page =147|publisher=Rough Guides|quote=Circumcision is not compulsory and has no religious significance.}}</ref> No special interval is specified: Druze infants are usually circumcised shortly after birth,<ref name="auto">{{cite book|title=The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status| first=Nissim|last=Dana|year= 2003| isbn=978-1-903900-36-9| page =56|publisher=University of Michigan Press|quote=}}</ref> however some remain uncircumcised until age ten or older.<ref name="auto"/> Some Druses do not circumcise their male children, and refuse to observe this "common Muslim practice".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Sunni-Shi'a Divide: Islam's Internal Divisions and Their Global Consequences| first=Robert|last=Brenton Betts|year= 2013| isbn=978-1-61234-523-9| page =56|publisher=Potomac Books, Inc.|quote=There are many references to the Druze refusal to observe this common Muslim practice, one of the earliest being the rediscoverer of the ruins of Petra, John Burckhardt. "The Druses do not circumcise their children}}</ref>
===Islam=== {{Main|Khitan (circumcision)}} {{Islam}} The origin of circumcision in Islam is a matter of religious and scholarly debate.<ref name="Aldeeb 1995">{{cite journal |author-link=Sami Aldeeb |date=1994 |title=To Mutilate in the Name of Jehovah or Allah: Legitimization of Male and Female Circumcision |journal=Medicine and Law |publisher=World Association for Medical Law |volume=13 |issue=7–8 |pages=575–622 |pmid=7731348 |author-last=Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh |author-first=Sami A.}}; {{cite journal |date=1995 |title=Islamic Law and the Issue of Male and Female Circumcision |url=https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=twls |journal=Third World Legal Studies |publisher=Valparaiso University School of Law |volume=13 |pages=73–101 |access-date=13 February 2020 |author-last=Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh |author-first=Sami A.}}</ref><ref name="Reeves 2004">{{cite book |author-last=Kueny |author-first=Kathryn |editor-last=Reeves |editor-first=John C. |date=2004 |chapter=Abraham's Test: Islamic Male Circumcision as Anti/Ante-Covenantal Practice |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WNId86Eu4TEC&pg=PA161 |title=Bible and Qurʼān: Essays in Scriptural Intertextuality |location=Leiden |publisher=Brill Publishers |pages=161–2, 169–173 |series=Symposium Series (Society of Biblical Literature) |volume=24 |isbn=90-04-12726-7}}</ref> It is mentioned in some ''hadith'' and the ''sunnah'', but not in the Quran,<ref name="Aldeeb 1995" /><ref name="Reeves 2004" /><ref name="EncyclopediaofIslam">{{cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=Bosworth |editor1-first=C. E. |editor1-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |editor2-last=van Donzel |editor2-first=E. J. |editor2-link=Emeri Johannes van Donzel |editor3-last=Lewis |editor3-first=B. |editor4-last=Pellat |editor4-first=Ch. |title=Khitan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJQ3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA20 |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |location=Leiden |publisher=Brill Publishers |volume=5 |pages=20–22 |date=1986 |isbn=90-04-07819-3}}</ref><ref name="Iranica">{{cite encyclopedia |author1-last=Šakūrzāda |author1-first=Ebrāhīm |author2-last=Omidsalar |author2-first=Mahmoud |title=Circumcision |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/circumcision |volume=V/6 |pages=596–600 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |publisher=Columbia University |location=New York |date=October 2011 |access-date=13 February 2020}}</ref> though some believe it is implied by the command to "follow the way of Ibrahim, the true in Faith".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Alahmad |first1=Ghiath |last2=Dekkers |first2=Wim |date=2012-03-20 |title=Bodily Integrity and Male Circumcision: An Islamic Perspective |journal=Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=44–1–7903 |doi=10.5915/44-1-7903 |issn=0899-8299 |pmc=3516177 |pmid=23610746}}</ref> In the time of Muhammad, circumcision was carried out by Pagan Arabian tribes,<ref name="Reeves 2004" /><ref name="EncyclopediaofIslam" /><ref name="Iranica" /> and by the Jewish tribes of Arabia for religious reasons.<ref name="Reeves 2004" /> This was attested by al-Jahiz<ref name="Iranica" /> and by Jewish historian Flavius Josephus.<ref name="Reeves 2004"/><ref name="Iranica"/>
The four schools of Islamic jurisprudence have different views towards circumcision.<ref name="EncyclopediaofIslam"/> Some state that it is recommendable, others that it is permissible but not binding, while others regard it as a legal obligation.<ref name="Reeves 2004"/> According to Shafi'i and Hanbali jurists male circumcision is obligatory for Muslims,<ref name="Reeves 2004"/><ref name="EncyclopediaofIslam"/> while Hanafi jurists consider circumcision to be recommendable.<ref name="Reeves 2004"/> Some Salafis have argued that circumcision is required in Islam to provide ritual cleanliness based on the covenant with Abraham.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gauvain |first=Richard |year=2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AJ6gL2iwhy8C&pg=PA335 |title=Salafi Ritual Purity: In the Presence of God |location=Abingdon, Oxfordshire |publisher=Routledge |series=Routledge Islamic studies series |page=335 |isbn=978-0-7103-1356-0}}</ref>
Whereas Jewish circumcision is closely bound by ritual timing and tradition, Islam states no fixed age for circumcision.<ref name="Aldeeb 1995"/><ref name="Iranica"/><ref name="Anwer 2017">{{cite journal |author1-last=Anwer |author1-first=Abdul Wahid |author2-last=Samad |author2-first=Lubna |author3-last=Baig-Ansari |author3-first=Naila |author4-last=Iftikhar |author4-first=Sundus |date=January 2017 |title=Reported Male Circumcision Practices in a Muslim-Majority Setting |journal=BioMed Research International |volume=2017 |article-number=4957348 |publisher=Hindawi Publishing Corporation |doi=10.1155/2017/4957348 |pmc=5282422 |pmid=28194416|doi-access=free }}</ref> In Muslim communities, children are often circumcised in late childhood or early adolescence.<ref name="Anwer 2017"/> It varies by family, region, and country.<ref name="Anwer 2017"/> The age when boys get circumcised, and the procedures used, tend to change across cultures, families, and time.<ref name="Anwer 2017"/> In some Muslim-majority countries, circumcision is performed after boys have learned to recite the Quran from start to finish.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/malecircumcision.shtml |title=Islam: Circumcision of boys |date=13 August 2009 |work=Religion & ethics—Islam |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |access-date=13 February 2020}}</ref> In Malaysia and other regions, the boy usually undergoes the operation between the ages of ten and twelve, and is thus a puberty rite, serving to introduce him in the adult world.{{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs a reliable source.|date=July 2020}} The procedure is sometimes semi-public, accompanied with music, special foods, and much festivity.{{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs a reliable source.|date=July 2020}}
Islam has no equivalent of a Jewish mohel. Circumcisions are usually carried out in health facilities or hospitals, and performed by trained medical practitioners.<ref name="Anwer 2017"/> The circumciser can be either male or female,<ref name="Anwer 2017"/> and is not required to be a Muslim,<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/> and circumcision is not required of converts to Islam.<ref name="clark_2011">{{cite book|author=Clark M|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zPXu561ZpvgC&pg=PA178|title=Islam For Dummies|date=10 March 2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-118-05396-6|page=170|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118224324/https://books.google.com/books?id=zPXu561ZpvgC&pg=PA178|archive-date=18 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Bahai Faith===
Circumcision is not a religious practice of the Bahá'í Faith, and leaves that decision to the parents.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hassall |first=Graham |date=2022 |chapter=Ch. 48: Oceania |pages=591–602 |title=The World of the Bahá'í Faith |publisher=Routledge |location=Oxfordshire, UK |isbn=978-1-138-36772-2 |editor-last=Stockman |editor-first=Robert H. |editor-link=Robert Stockman |doi=10.4324/9780429027772-55|s2cid=244697166 }}</ref>
===Samaritanism===
Like Judaism, the religion of Samaritanism requires ritual circumcision on the eighth day of life.<ref name="Mark-2003">{{Cite book | vauthors = Mark E |title=The Covenant of Circumcision: New Perspectives on an Ancient Jewish Rite |publisher=University Press of New England |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-58465-307-3 |pages=94–95}}</ref>
==Indian religions== {{transcluded section|source=Circumcision#Indian religions}} {{trim|{{#section-h: Circumcision|Indian religions}}}}
==Africa== {{Main|Circumcision in Africa|Traditional African religions}} In West Africa, infant circumcision had religious significance as a rite of passage or otherwise in the past; today in some non-Muslim Nigerian societies it is medicalised and is simply a cultural norm.<ref>Ajuwon et al., "Indigenous surgical practices in rural southwestern Nigeria: Implications for disease," Health Educ. Res..1995; 10: 379-384 Health Educ. Res..1995; 10: 379-384. Retrieved 3 October 2006</ref>
[[File:Serer Religious Ceremony.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The ''Mbot'' masque.<ref>Dione, Salif, "L'appel du Ndut ou l'initiation des garçons seereer", Dakar, Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire / Enda-Editions (2004), pp. 46-7, 148, 159. {{ISBN|92 9130 047 0}}</ref> Symbol of the Ndut initiation rite.]] Amongst the Serer ethnoreligious group of Senegal, Gambia, Mauritania, and Guinea-Bissau, the Ndut initiation rite has Serer religious, cultural, and educational significance - which Serer boys must undergo when they reach thirteen years of age, and usually conducted in groups, in a temporary Serer sanctuary called "ndut" (literally, "nest") - which is burnt after the sacred rite is completed and the boys have been discharged back to their families. It is in this sacred place that the circumcision takes place as Serer custom dictates. The nest (''ndut'') is burn down after the ritual is over, because Serer custom dictates that, a boy cannot be circumcised in the same nest his father was circumcised in. It is in classical Ndut teachings that many aspects of Serer ancient history, Serer cosmogony - including the history and mysteries of the universe are taught.<ref>Niang, Cheikh Ibrahima; Boiro, Hamadou; "Social Construction of Male Circumcision in West Africa, A Case Study of Senegal and Guinea-Bissau", [in] Reproductive Health Matters (2007) [https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hsph.harvard.edu%2Fpihhr%2Ffiles%2Fresources_and_publications%2Fjournal_series%2FRHM%2FRHM29-Niang.pdf%2Findex.html#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url Archived url]</ref><ref>Dion, Salif, "Le Ndut ou l'Education initiatique en pays sereer : étude thématique de chants et de symboles, Dakar, Université de Dakar (1979), p. 124, (Mémoire de Maîtrise)</ref><ref name="Grav ndut">Gravrand, R.P. Henri, ''"Le Ndut" dans « L'héritage spirituel sereer : valuer traditionnelle d'hier, d'aujourd'hui et de demain »'' [in] Éthiopiques n° 31. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080406191425/http://www.refer.sn/ethiopiques/article.php3?id_article=895&artsuite=6 Archived url] </ref><ref>Gravrand, Henry, "La civilisation sereer : Pangool", vol.2, Les Nouvelles Editions Africaines du Sénégal, (1990), pp. 98-100, {{ISBN|2-7236-1055-1}}</ref> It is from this tradition that the ultra-religious, ultra-conservative, Serer Njuup music tradition originated, which would become the progenitor of the Mbalax music genre of the Senegambia region.<ref name="Grav ndut"/><ref>Sturman, Janet, "The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture." SAGE Publications (2019), p. 1926 {{ISBN|9781483317748}}</ref>
In many West African traditional societies circumcision has become medicalised and is simply performed in infancy without ado or any particular conscious cultural significance.{{Citation needed|date=July 2007}} Among the Urhobo of southern Nigeria it is symbolic of a boy entering into manhood. The ritual expression, ''Omo te Oshare'' ("the boy is now man"), constitutes a rite of passage from one age set to another.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Agberia | first = John Tokpabere | year = 2006 | title = Aesthetics and Rituals of the Opha Ceremony among the Urhobo People | journal = Journal of Asian and African Studies | volume = 41 | issue = 3 | pages = 249–260 | doi = 10.1177/0021909606063880 | s2cid = 144983114 }} </ref>
In East Africa, specifically in Kenya among various so-classified Bantu and Nilotic peoples, such as the Maragoli and Idakho of the Luhya super-ethnic group, the Kikuyu, Kalenjin and Maasai, circumcision is a rite of passage observed collectively by a number of boys every few years, and boys circumcised at the same time are taken to be members of a single age set.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.masaikenya.org/ | title = Masai of Kenya | access-date = 2007-04-06 }} </ref>
Authority derives from the age-group and the age-set. Prior to circumcision a natural leader or Olaiguenani is selected; he leads his age-group through a series of rituals until old age, sharing responsibility with a select few, of whom the ritual expert (Oloiboni) is the ultimate authority. Masai youths are not circumcised until they are mature, and a new age-set is initiated together at regular intervals of twelve to fifteen years. The young warriors (Il-Murran) remain initiates for some time, using blunt arrows to hunt small birds which are stuffed and tied to a frame to form a head-dress. Traditionally, among the Luhya, boys of certain age-sets, typically between 8 and 18 years of age would, under the leadership of specific men engage in various rites leading up to the day of circumcision. After circumcision, they would live apart from the rest of society for a certain number of days. Not even their mothers nor sisters would be allowed to see them.
The Xhosa Tribe from the Eastern Cape in South Africa has a circumcision ritual. The ceremony is part of a transition to manhood. It is called the Abakwetha - "A Group Learning". A group of normally five aged between 16 and 20 go off for three months and live in a special hut (sutu). The circumcision is the climax of the ritual. Nelson Mandela describes his experiences undergoing this ritual in his biography, ''Long Walk to Freedom''.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.ezakwantu.com/Gallery%20Lister%20Hunter%20Photo%20Set%20A%20-%20Abakwetha.htm |title = Eastern Cape - The Abakwetha Circumcision Ceremony - Xhosa |access-date = 2013-05-31 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130602110524/http://ezakwantu.com/Gallery%20Lister%20Hunter%20Photo%20Set%20A%20-%20Abakwetha.htm |archive-date = 2013-06-02 }} </ref><ref> {{cite book |last=Mandela |first=Nelson |title=The Long Walk To Freedom |year=1995 |publisher=MacDonald Purnell |isbn=978-0-316-87496-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780316874960_0/page/3 3–36] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780316874960_0/page/3 }} </ref> Traditional circumcisions are often performed in unsterile conditions where no anesthetic is administered; improper treatment of the wound can lead to sepsis and dehydration, which has in the past lead to initiate deaths.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=David|title=South Africa urged to end silence on dangerous circumcision rituals|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/27/south-africa-circumscision-danger|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=20 July 2014|date=2012-07-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Vincent|first1=Louise|title=Cutting Tradition: the Political Regulation of Traditional Circumcision Rites in South Africa's Liberal Democratic Order|journal=Journal of Southern African Studies|date=March 2008|volume=34|pages=77–91|doi=10.1080/03057070701832890|s2cid=144451029|url=https://www.academia.edu/6574247|access-date=20 July 2014}}</ref>
Among some West African animist groups, such as the Dogon and Dowayo, circumcision represents a removal of "feminine" aspects of the male, turning boys into fully masculine males.<ref name="Circumcision amongst the Dogon"/>
==Ancient Egypt== [[File:Circumcision Precinct of Mut.png|thumb|Ancient Egyptian carved scene of circumcision, from the inner northern wall of the Temple of Khonspekhrod at the Precinct of Mut, Luxor, Egypt. Eighteenth dynasty, Amenhotep III, c. 1360 BCE.]]
Sixth Dynasty (2345–2181 BCE) tomb artwork in Egypt is thought to be the oldest documentary evidence of circumcision. The most ancient depiction is a bas-relief from the necropolis at Saqqara ({{c.}} 2400 BCE) with the inscription "Hold him and do not allow him to faint". The oldest written account, by an Egyptian named Uha, in the 23rd century BCE, describes a mass circumcision and boasts of his ability to stoically endure the pain: "When I was circumcised, together with one hundred and twenty men ... there was none thereof who hit out, there was none thereof who was hit, and there was none thereof who scratched and there was none thereof who was scratched."<ref>Gollaher, p. 2.</ref>
Circumcision in ancient Egypt was thought to be a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. The alteration of the body and ritual of circumcision was supposed to give access to ancient mysteries reserved for the initiated.<ref>''Cf.'' Exodus Rabba 30:9, where Aquila of Sinope said to Hadrian the king, "I wish to become a proselyte." When the king retorted, "Go and study their Divine Law, but do not be circumcised." Aquila then said to him, "Even the wisest man in your kingdom, and an elder who is aged one-hundred, cannot study their Divine Law if he isn't circumcised, for thus is it written: 'He makes known his words unto Jacob, even his precepts and judgments unto Israel. He has not done the like of which to any other nation' [Psalms 147:19–20]. Unto whom, then, [has he done it]? Unto the sons of Israel!"</ref> The content of those mysteries are unclear but are likely to be myths, prayers, and incantations central to Egyptian religion. The Egyptian Book of the Dead, for example, tells of the sun god Ra performing a self-circumcision, whose blood created two minor guardian deities. Circumcisions were performed by priests in a public ceremony, using a stone blade. It is thought to have been more popular among society's upper echelons, although it was not universal and those lower down the social order also had the procedure.<ref>Gollaher, p. 3.</ref>
==Asia== In early 2007 it was announced that rural aidpost orderlies in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea were to undergo training in circumcision with a view to introducing the procedure as a means of prophylaxis to reduce the likelihood of catching HIV/AIDS, which was becoming a significant problem in the country.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}}
Neither the Avesta nor the Zoroastrian Pahlavi texts mention circumcision. Traditionally, Zoroastrians do not practice circumcision.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Neo-Mandaic Dialect of Khorramshahr| first=Charles |last=Häberl|year= 2009| isbn=978-3-447-05874-2| page =4|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|quote=}}</ref> Circumcision is not required in Yazidism, but is practised by some Yazidis due to regional customs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Parry |first1=O. H. (Oswald Hutton) |title=Six months in a Syrian monastery; being the record of a visit to the head quarters of the Syrian church in Mesopotamia, with some account of the Yazidis or devil worshippers of Mosul and El Jilwah, their sacred book |url=https://archive.org/stream/sixmonthsinasyr00parrgoog/sixmonthsinasyr00parrgoog_djvu.txt |publisher=London : H. Cox |date=1895}}</ref>
Circumcision is forbidden in Mandaeism,<ref name="Drower">{{cite book|last=Drower|first=Ethel Stefana|title=The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran|publisher=Oxford At The Clarendon Press|year=1937}}</ref> and the sign of the Jews given to Abraham by God, circumcision, is considered abhorrent.<ref>{{cite book|title=Beyond ISIS: History and Future of Religious Minorities in Iraq| first=Thomas |last=Schmidinger|year= 2019| isbn=978-1-912997-15-2| page =82|publisher=Transnational Press London|quote=}}</ref> According to the Mandaean doctrine a circumcised man cannot serve as a priest.<ref>{{cite book|title=Guardians of the Gate: Angelic Vice-regency in the Late Antiquity| first=Nathaniel|last= Deutsch|year= 1999| isbn=978-90-04-10909-4| page =105|publisher=BRILL|quote=}}</ref>
Circumcision in South Korea is largely the result of American cultural and military influence following the Korean War.<ref>{{cite web | title=[WHY] to snip, or not to snip? Korean society and circumcision | date=20 April 2024 | url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-04-20/national/socialAffairs/WHY-To-snip-or-not-to-snip-Korean-society-and-circumcision/2029413 }}</ref> Prevalence has been declining.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=DaiSik |last2=Koo |first2=Sung-Ae |last3=Pang |first3=Myung-Geol |date=2012-12-11 |title=Decline in male circumcision in South Korea |journal=BMC Public Health |volume=12 |article-number=1067 |doi=10.1186/1471-2458-12-1067 |doi-access=free |issn=1471-2458 |pmc=3526493 |pmid=23227923}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-20 |title=[WHY] To snip, or not to snip? Korean society and circumcision |url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-04-20/national/socialAffairs/WHY-To-snip-or-not-to-snip-Korean-society-and-circumcision/2029413 |access-date=2026-04-11 |website=koreajoongangdaily.joins.com |language=en}}</ref>
The origin of circumcision (''tuli'') in the Philippines is uncertain. One newspaper article speculates that it is due to the influence of Western colonisation.<ref>{{cite news |first = Rommel G. |last = Rebollido |url = http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/gen/2005/03/21/feat/passage.to.manhood.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050322180806/http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/gen/2005/03/21/feat/passage.to.manhood.html |archive-date = March 22, 2005 |title = Passage to manhood |work = General Santos |publisher = Sun Star Publishing, Inc. |date = March 21, 2005 |access-date = 2006-07-01 }}</ref> However, Antonio de Morga's 17th-century ''History of the Philippine Islands'' documents its existence in pre-Colonial Philippines, owing it to Islamic influence.<ref>{{cite book |last = de Morga |first = Antonio |translator = Alfonso de Salvio |translator2 = Norman F. Hall |translator3 = James Alexander Robertson |title = History of the Philippine Islands |orig-date = 1609 |url = http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in/resources/english/etext-project/history/philippine/index.htm |access-date = 2006-07-01 |year = 1907 |chapter = 11 |chapter-url = http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in/resources/english/etext-project/history/philippine/chapter11.html |quote = These Borneans are Mahometans, and were already introducing their religion among the natives of Luzon, and were giving them instructions, ceremonies, and the form of observing their religion.…and those the chiefest men, were commencing, although by piecemeal, to become Moros, and were being circumcised and taking the names of Moros. |isbn = 978-0-527-65000-1 |lccn = unk82042869 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061010110131/http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in/resources/english/etext-project/history/philippine/index.htm |archive-date = 2006-10-10 }}</ref>
==Oceania== Circumcision is part of initiation rites in some Pacific Island, and Australian aboriginal traditions in areas such as Arnhem Land,<ref>{{cite web | author = Aaron David Samuel Corn | title = Ngukurr Crying: Male Youth in a Remote Indigenous Community | version = Working Paper Series No. 2 | publisher = University of Wollongong | year = 2001 | url = http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sealcp/wkgpapers/wp2.pdf | access-date = 2006-10-18 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040623130814/http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sealcp/wkgpapers/wp2.pdf |archive-date = 2004-06-23}} </ref> where the practice was introduced by Makassan traders from Sulawesi.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.mfgsc.vic.edu.au/greenturtledreaming/EKmigrate.htm |title = Migration and Trade |access-date = 2006-10-18 |publisher = Green Turtle Dreaming |quote = In exchange for turtles and trepang the Makassans introduced tobacco, the practice of circumcision and knowledge to build sea-going canoes. |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060819150742/http://www.mfgsc.vic.edu.au/greenturtledreaming/EKmigrate.htm |archive-date = 2006-08-19 }}</ref> Circumcision ceremonies among certain Australian aboriginal societies are noted for their painful nature, including subincision for some aboriginal peoples in the Western Desert.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Jones | first = IH |date=June 1969 | title = Subincision among Australian western desert Aborigines | journal = British Journal of Medical Psychology | volume = 42 | issue = 2 | pages = 183–190 | doi =10.1111/j.2044-8341.1969.tb02069.x | pmid=5783777 | issn = 0007-1129 }} </ref>
In the Pacific, ritual circumcision is nearly universal in the Melanesian islands of Fiji and Vanuatu;<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.aids.net.au/aids-png-project-20060403.htm |title = Recent Guest Speaker, March 15, Professor Roger Short |access-date = 2006-07-01 |year = 2006 |publisher = Australian AIDS Fund Incorporated |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060820012843/http://www.aids.net.au/aids-png-project-20060403.htm |archive-date = 2006-08-20 }}</ref> participation in the traditional land diving on Pentecost Island is reserved for those who have been circumcised.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} Circumcision is also commonly practised in the Polynesian islands of Samoa, Tonga, Niue, and Tikopia. In Samoa, it is accompanied by a celebration.
==See also== * History of circumcision * Prevalence of circumcision
==References== {{Reflist|30em}} Works cited:
{{cite journal|last1=Clarence-Smith|first1=William G.|title=Islam and Female Genital Cutting in Southeast Asia: The Weight of the Past|journal=Finnish Journal of Ethnicity and Migration|volume=3|issue=2|date=2008|url=http://www.etmu.fi/fjem/pdf/FJEM_2_2008.pdf|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306050235/http://www.etmu.fi/fjem/pdf/FJEM_2_2008.pdf|archive-date=2009-03-06}} * Glick, Leonard B. Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. ({{ISBN|0-19-517674-X}})
{{JewishEncyclopedia|ref=none}} The rabbinic literature and Converts to Judaism are sections are an evolution of the [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4391-circumcision corresponding article] which gives the following Bibliography:
* Pocock, Specimen Historiœ Arabum, pp. 319 et seq.; * Millo, Histoire du Mahométisme, p. 350; * Hoffmann, Beschneidung, in Ersch and Gruber, Encyc.; * Steinschneider, Die Beschneidung der Araber und Muhammedaner, in Glassberg, Die Beschneidung; * Jolly, Etude Critique du Manuel Opératoire des Musulmans et des Israélites, Paris, 1899.
==External links== {{Circumcision series}}
Category:Circumcision circum circum Category:Rites of passage circum Category:24th-century BC establishments