Why is circumcision still practiced today?

Answer 1

In most of the world, it is not, the only places where it is still widely practiced are in Muslim country's by Muslims at large , and By Many Jews who initiated the practice from the Egyptians. there are also some other cultures that do this for religious and cultural reasons. During the Victorian era, British doctors and in turn ( its colonies) and the USA adopted circumcision and other genital mutilations to control sexual behaviour in boys and girls, and to prevent STDs in adult men and women. Circumcision, clitoridectomy and hysterectomy were prescribed in the false belief that they could prevent or cure masturbation, tuberculosis, mental illness, and an amazing array of other unlikely diseases. female circumcision was banned in 1867, when a woman's right to make decisions about her own body was recognised. In contrast, male circumcision was continued into the 20th century by misguided physicians who claimed it was necessary in all cases of infantile phimosis and to prevent masturbation, cancer and syphilis.and The majority of genital mutilation (male and female) in the world today is done in Muslim surroundings (Female genital mutilation however is not a religious observance and predates Islam). So called Medical circumcision of infants however is still big business in the united states.

The American Academy of Pediatrics' policy is not supported by the studies it cites.) It is largely done out of a very strong cultural habit, such as the myth that it is "cleaner". There is in fact no good reason for a person that is brought up to clean all of his body on a regular basis to be circumcised. Most people do it because they had it done to them. The same reasoning does not aply to female genital mutilation as a woman who has not had this done can became outcast in her comunity, a lot of work need s to go into reversing al genital mutilation both male and female

Answer 2

Circumcision has been known to offer virtually complete protection from penile cancer. According to a recent review article in the New England Journal of Medicine, none of the over 1,600 persons studied with this cancer had been circumcised in infancy. In the words of researchers Cochen and McCurdy, the incidence of penile cancer in the U.S. is "essentially zero" among circumcised men.

Also, research at Johns Hopkins University Medical School in Baltimore have shown that circumcised men are six to eight times less likely to become infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Researchers believe that protection is due to the removal of the foreskin, which contains cells that have HIV receptors which scientists suspect are the primary entry point for the HIV virus (Reuters, March 25, 2004).Several studies reported that circumcised boys were between 10 to 39 times less likely to develop urinary tract infections during infancy than uncircumcised boys. In addition, circumcision protects against bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections and a variety of other conditions related to hygiene. The extremely low rate of Cervical cancer in Jewish women (9 to 22 times less than among non-Jewish women) is thought to be related to the practice of circumcision. As a result of studies like these, a number of prestigious medical organizations such as the California Medical Association have recognized the benefits of circumcision.As an operation, circumcision has an extremely small complication rate. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine (1990) reported a complication rate of 0.19 percent when circumcision is performed by a physician. When performed by a trained mohel, the rate falls to 0.13 percent or about 1 in 800. When a complication occurs, it is usually due to the bleeding, which is easily correctable. No other surgical procedure can boast such figures for complication-free operations.

For Jews, the origin of circumcision is in the Torah, which is the foundation of Judaism. God told Abraham "every male among you shall be circumcised" (Gen. 17) as part of the covenant between God and the Jewish people.

Since that time, virtually all Jews have observed the command of circumcision (Genesis ch.17) for close to four millennia, even in times of religious persecution under the Greeks, Romans, Spaniards, Soviets and others. Circumcision is the indelible sign of God's covenant with Abraham and is just as important as Yom Kippur in terms of the stringency which the Torah places upon it. And similar to Yom Kippur, it is one of the observances which are common to Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews alike.

See also:

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/144122/jewish/Brit-Milah-Circumcision.htm

http://www.milah.net/

http://judaism.about.com/od/lifeevents/a/britmilah.htm