And, apparently, most of Africa. - Edit 1
Before modification by Joel at 06/10/2010 11:46:53 AM
Well, just a wild stab, but my guess would be either American Indians or you guys, and I'd bet on the latter. The real question is why it became so prevalent outside Jewish and Islamic cultures if it was so unique to them (though in some ways making the distinction between "Hindu Indians" and Indians in general robs that stat of its punch; the high populations and prevalence of Islam in India, Pakistan and Indonesia mean there are plenty of circumcised non-Americans. ) There's certainly no religious basis for it among Christians; the NT is VERY clear on that (I believe it's Peter (
) who at one point expresses the wish that those demanding Gentile circumcision would "go all the way" and castrate themselves. )
) who at one point expresses the wish that those demanding Gentile circumcision would "go all the way" and castrate themselves. )One presumes Americans took it from the Jews and not from the Muslims, but as to why, I don't think there's a single explanation. Wikipedia suggests that it had to do with somewhat primitive views on germs in the early 1900s on the one hand, and on the other hand with preventing masturbation. Though it also says, somewhat surprisingly, to me at least, that only 60% of American male babies are circumcized today, and the sources seem to disagree significantly on how high the percentage was at the time when it was most prevalent, from 70% to over 90%.
In Australia, it was apparently quite prevalent in generations past, but is falling quickly now. In the UK, it never was dominant but was more prevalent in the past than it is now.
At least according to Wikipedias map, which indicates it's at least as common as here in all but about a half dozen southern African countries, and more common in most (though the map is itself a bit misleading based on the article, since it sets the cut off (if you'll pardon the term
) at 80% and states the frequency here is 79%. )http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Global_Map_of_Male_Circumcision_Prevalence_at_Country_Level.png
Given that includes a mainland Chinese population that accounts for about 1/5 of the planet, the articles "30%" global prevalence is also a bit misleading.
I'd never made a connection with masturbation, and still don't really get it; unless the procedure is very badly performed a child shouldn't even notice after a week or two, and certainly not years later. The main medical issue I see is that folds of skin are more likely to trap pathogens than bare skin, so a more aggressive level of hygiene will be necessary to ensure the same level of health. The survey responses from circumcised men who seem to feel they're traumatized victims are a little bizarre to me; as a circumcised male I've never felt the lack. Which is the problem with the whole "let him choose" philosophy: Severing part of a highly sensitive area is rather painful, if only after anesthesia wears off, which is why it's traditionally done at birth so the child has no conscious recollection of it. The notion that it inflicts some kind of life long psychological damage smacks to me of the same mindset that doesn't trust parents to make any other decisions for their own children. Sometimes I think parenthood is being slowly abolished and a literal nanny state taking hold, which is deeply troubling.