Views on circumcision

Circumcision has played a significant cultural, social, and religious role in various global cultures over the course of world history. This has subsequently led to widely varying views related to the practice.

The rite plays a major role in the Abrahamic faiths. Mainstream forms of Judaism view the practice as integral to the faith and one of the most important religious obligations, while differing schools of interpretation within Islam view it either as a religious obligation or recommendation.

Circumcision has also played a major role in Christian history and theology. Covenant theology largely views the Christian sacrament of baptism as fulfilling the Israelite practice of circumcision, both being signs and seals of the covenant of grace. With the exception of the Coptics, Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox where circumcision is a common, integral or required practice for members of these churches, the large majority of mainstream Christian denominations maintain a neutral position on it in with respect to medical or cultural reasons, although all of them honor the circumcision of Jesus and condemn the rite when it is viewed as a means or requirement towards an individual's justification. According to Scholar Heather L. Armstrong of University of Southampton, many Christians have been circumcised for reasons such as family preferences, varying Biblical interpretation by individuals, medical or cultural reasons.

Samaritanism views the circumcision as an integral and central religious obligation that is one of the most important commandments for Samaritans. Circumcision is widely practiced by the Druze. The procedure is practiced as a cultural tradition, and has no religious significance in the Druze faith. Some Druses do not circumcise their male children, and refuse to observe what they see as a "common Muslim practice".

Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Sikhism, strongly prohibit the practice of routine circumcision. Hinduism discourages non-medical circumcision, as according to them, the body is made by the almighty God, and nobody has right to alter it without the consent of the person themself. Sikhism does not require the elective circumcision of its followers and strongly criticizes the practice. Sikh infants are not circumcised. Buddhism appears to have a neutral view on circumcision.

Circumcision rituals in Africa, and the rites of initiation in Africa have many forms. In his 1949 book, Günter Wagner wrote: "...the frequent resemblance between details of ceremonial procedure in areas thousands of kilometres apart, indicate that the circumcision ritual has an old tradition behind it..." Circumcision is prevalent among 92% of men in North Africa and around 62% in Sub-Saharan Africa. In western and northern parts of Africa it is mainly performed on newborns for religious reasons, whereas in southern parts of Africa it is rarely performed on infants, instead being a rite of passage into manhood.

Some African and Eastern Christian denominations view male circumcision is an integral or established practice, and require that their male members undergo circumcision. Circumcision is near-universal among Coptic Christians, Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox. Worshipers often practice circumcision as a rite of passage, although the Ethiopian Orthodox specifically recommends against circumcision.

Certain African cultural groups, such as the Yoruba and the Igbo of Nigeria, customarily circumcise their infant sons. The procedure is also practiced by some cultural groups or individual family lines in Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and in southern Africa. For some of these groups, circumcision appears to be purely cultural, done with no particular religious significance or intention to distinguish members of a group. For others, circumcision might be done for purification, or it may be interpreted as a mark of subjugation. Among these groups, even when circumcision is done for reasons of tradition, it is often done in hospitals.