Abrahamic religions Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Circumcision === {{See also |Religious male circumcision |Brit milah |Khitan (circumcision) |Circumcision controversy in early Christianity |History of circumcision}} [[File:Brit mila.jpg |thumb |Preparing for a Jewish [[Brit milah|ritual circumcision]].]] Judaism and [[Samaritanism]] commands that [[brit milah|males be circumcised]] when they are eight days old,{{sfn |Mark |2003 |pp=94–95}} as does the [[Sunnah]] in [[Khitan (Circumcision)|Islam]]. Despite its common practice in Muslim-majority nations, circumcision is considered to be ''[[sunnah]]'' (tradition) and not required for a life directed by Allah.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author1-last=Šakūrzāda |author1-first=Ebrāhīm |author2-last=Omidsalar |author2-first=Mahmoud |date=October 2011 |title=Circumcision |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/circumcision |url-status=live |volume=V/6 |pages=596–600 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |publisher=[[Columbia University]] |location=[[New York City|New York]] |doi=10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_7731 |doi-access=free |issn=2330-4804 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200119024047/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/circumcision |archive-date=19 January 2020 |access-date=7 February 2020}}</ref> Although there is some debate within Islam over whether it is a religious requirement or mere recommendation, circumcision (called ''khitan'') is practiced nearly universally by Muslim males. Today, many [[Christian denominations]] are neutral about ritual male circumcision, not requiring it for religious observance, but neither forbidding it for cultural or other reasons.{{sfn|Pitts-Taylor |2008 |p=394}} [[Western Christianity]] replaced the custom of male circumcision with the ritual of [[baptism]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kohler |first1=Kaufmann |last2=Krauss |first2=Samuel |title=Baptism |url=https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2456-baptism |website=Jewish Encyclopedia |access-date=31 August 2022 |quote="According to rabbinical teachings, which dominated even during the existence of the Temple (Pes. viii. 8), Baptism, next to circumcision and sacrifice, was an absolutely necessary condition to be fulfilled by a [[proselyte]] to Judaism (Yeb. 46b, 47b; Ker. 9a; 'Ab. Zarah 57a; Shab. 135a; Yer. Kid. iii. 14, 64d). Circumcision, however, was much more important, and, like baptism, was called a "seal" (Schlatter, "Die Kirche Jerusalems", 1898, p. 70). But as circumcision was discarded by Christianity, and the sacrifices had ceased, Baptism remained the sole condition for initiation into religious life. The next ceremony, adopted shortly after the others, was the [[Laying on of hands|imposition of hands]], which, it is known, was the usage of the Jews at the ordination of a rabbi. [[Anointing]] with oil, which at first also accompanied the act of Baptism, and was analogous to the anointment of priests among the Jews, was not a necessary condition." |archive-date=31 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831120817/https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2456-baptism |url-status=live }}</ref> a ceremony which varies according to the doctrine of the denomination, but it generally includes [[Baptism by immersion|immersion]], [[aspersion]], or [[anointment]] with water. The [[Early Church]] (Acts 15, the [[Council of Jerusalem]]) decided that [[Gentile Christians]] are not required to undergo circumcision. The [[Council of Florence]] in the 15th century<ref>[http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/councilflorence/ "Ecumenical Council of Florence (1438–1445)"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060816052624/http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/councilflorence/ |date=16 August 2006 }}. The Circumcision Reference Library. Retrieved 10 July 2007.</ref> prohibited it. Paragraph #2297 of the Catholic Catechism calls non-medical amputation or mutilation immoral.<ref>[http://www.christusrex.org/www1/CDHN/fifth.html#PERSONS Catechism of the Catholic Church: Article 5—The Fifth commandment] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629225324/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/CDHN/fifth.html#PERSONS |date=29 June 2007 }}. Christus Rex et Redemptor Mundi. Retrieved 10 July 2007.</ref><ref>Dietzen, John. [http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/dietzen1/ "The Morality of Circumcision"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060810070559/http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/dietzen1/ |date=10 August 2006 }}, The Circumcision Reference Library. Retrieved 10 July 2007.</ref> By the 21st century, the Catholic Church had adopted a neutral position on the practice, as long as it is not practised as an initiation ritual. Catholic scholars make various arguments in support of the idea that this policy is not in contradiction with the previous edicts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholicdoors.com/faq/qu340.htm |title=Frequently Asked Questions: The Catholic Church and Circumcision. |website=catholicdoors.com |access-date=4 January 2021 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405051854/https://www.catholicdoors.com/faq/qu340.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/should-catholics-circumcise-their-sons |title=Should Catholics circumcise their sons? – Catholic Answers |website=Catholic.com |access-date=21 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222110835/http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/should-catholics-circumcise-their-sons |archive-date=22 December 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Arnold |first1=Michelle |url=https://www.catholic.com/qa/the-catechism-forbids-deliberate-mutilation-so-why-is-non-therapeutic-circumcision-allowed |title=The Catechism forbids deliberate mutilation, so why is non-therapeutic circumcision allowed? |access-date=21 December 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222110402/http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/the-catechism-forbids-deliberate-mutilation-so-why-is-non-therapeutic-circumcision-al |archive-date=22 December 2015 }}</ref> The [[New Testament]] chapter [[Council of Jerusalem|Acts 15]] records that Christianity did not require circumcision. The [[Catholic Church]] currently maintains a neutral position on the practice of non-religious circumcision,{{sfn |Slosar |O'Brien |2003 |pp=62–64}} and in 1442 it banned the practice of religious circumcision in the 11th [[Council of Florence]].{{sfn|Eugenius IV|1990}} [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic Christians]] practice circumcision as a rite of passage.<ref name="Columbia encyc 2011 circumcision">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2011 |title=Circumcision |encyclopedia=Columbia Encyclopedia |publisher=Columbia University Press |url=http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/circumcision.html |access-date=28 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924051012/http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/circumcision.html |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Eritrean Orthodox Church]] and the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Orthodox Church]] calls for circumcision, with near-universal prevalence among Orthodox men in Ethiopia.{{sfn|Adams |Adams |2012 |pp=291–298}} [[Image:Coptic Children wearing traditional circumcision costumes.jpg |thumb |right |[[Copts|Coptic]] Children wearing traditional circumcision costumes]] Many countries with majorities of Christian adherents in [[Europe]] and [[Latin America]] have low circumcision rates, while both religious and non-religious circumcision is widely practiced in many predominantly Christian countries and among [[Christians|Christian communities]] in the [[Anglosphere |Anglosphere countries]], [[Oceania]], [[South Korea]], the [[Philippines]], the [[Middle East]] and [[Africa]].<ref>{{harvp|Gruenbaum|2015|p=61|ps=: "Christian theology generally interprets male circumcision to be an Old Testament rule that is no longer an obligation ... though in many countries (especially the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa, but not so much in Europe) it is widely practiced among Christians."}}; {{harvp|Peteet|2017|pp=97–101|ps=: "male circumcision is still observed among Ethiopian and Coptic Christians, and circumcision rates are also high today in the Philippines and the US."}}; {{harvp|Ellwood|2008|p=95|ps=: "It is obligatory among Jews, Muslims, and Coptic Christians. Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians do not require circumcision. Starting in the last half of the 19th century, however, circumcision also became common among Christians in Europe and especially in North America."}}</ref><ref name="Associated Press">{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/19456997e17c4a12a24abb9d11c01dba |title=Circumcision protest brought to Florence |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |date=30 March 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." |access-date=1 September 2022 |archive-date=28 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928020456/https://apnews.com/article/19456997e17c4a12a24abb9d11c01dba |url-status=live}}</ref> Countries such as the United States,<ref>Ray, Mary G. [https://archive.today/20140916071531/http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:8IQnea2UK-UJ:http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/majority.htm&prmd=ivns&strip=1 "82% of the World's Men are Intact"], Mothers Against Circumcision, 1997.</ref> the [[Philippines]], [[Australia]] (albeit primarily in the older generations),<ref name="Richters 2006">{{cite journal |last1=Richters |first1=J. |last2=Smith |first2=A. M. |last3=de Visser |first3=R. O. |last4=Grulich |first4=A. E. |last5=Rissel |first5=C. E. |title=Circumcision in Australia: prevalence and effects on sexual health |journal=Int J STD AIDS |volume=17 |issue=8 |pages=547–54 |date=August 2006 |pmid=16925903 |doi=10.1258/095646206778145730 |s2cid=24396989 }}</ref> [[Canada]], [[Cameroon]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Equatorial Guinea]], [[Ghana]], [[Nigeria]], [[Kenya]], and many other African Christian countries have high circumcision rates.<ref name="Williams">{{cite journal |title=The potential impact of male circumcision on HIV in sub-Saharan Africa |last=Williams |first=B. G. |journal=PLOS Med |year=2006 |volume=3 |issue=7 |pages=e262 |doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0030262 |pmid=16822094 |pmc=1489185 |display-authors=etal |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Questions and answers: NIAID-sponsored adult male circumcision trials in Kenya and Uganda |publisher=National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases |date=December 2006 |url=http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/QA/AMC12_QA.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309060025/https://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/QA/AMC12_QA.htm |archive-date=9 March 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.necep.net/articles.php?id_soc=12&id_article=84 |title=Circumcision amongst the Dogon |access-date=3 September 2006 |year=2006 |publisher=The Non-European Components of European Patrimony (NECEP) Database |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060116174702/http://www.necep.net/articles.php?id_soc=12&id_article=84 |archive-date=16 January 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Circumcision is near universal in the Christian countries of [[Oceania]].<ref name="Associated Press" /> In some [[Christianity in Africa|African]] and [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern Christian denominations]] male circumcision is an integral or established practice, and require that their male members undergo circumcision.{{sfn|Pitts-Taylor |2008 |p=394 |loc="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."}} [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic Christianity]] and [[Ethiopian Orthodoxy]] and [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Eritrean Orthodoxy]] still observe male circumcision and practice circumcision as a [[rite of passage]].<ref name="Columbia encyc 2011 circumcision" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Van Doorn-Harder |first1=Nelly |title=Christianity: Coptic Christianity |journal=Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices |date=2006 |volume=1 |url=http://www.omnilogos.com/2014/11/christianity-coptic-christianity.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222120244/http://www.omnilogos.com/2014/11/christianity-coptic-christianity.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 December 2015 }}</ref> Male circumcision is also widely practiced among [[Christians]] from [[South Korea]], [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]], [[Jordan]], [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], [[Israel]], and [[North Africa]]. (See also [[aposthia]].) Male circumcision is among the rites of Islam and is part of the ''fitrah'', or the innate disposition and natural character and instinct of the human creation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.missionislam.com/health/circumcisionislam.html |title=Male Circumcision in Islam |first=Muslim Information Service of |last=Australia |access-date=16 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131129055454/http://www.missionislam.com/health/circumcisionislam.html |archive-date=29 November 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Circumcision is widely practiced by the [[Druze]], the procedure is practiced as a cultural tradition,{{sfn|Ubayd |2006 |p=150}} and has no religious significance in the [[Druze]] faith.{{sfn|Jacobs |1998 |p=147 }}{{sfn|Silver |2022 |p=97 }} Some Druses do not circumcise their male children, and refuse to observe this "common Muslim practice".{{sfn|Betts |2013 |p=56 }} Circumcision is not a religious practice of the Bahá'í Faith, and leaves that decision up to the parents.{{sfn|Hassall |2022 |pp=591–602 }} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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