Cultural and religious circumcision documents

(See also the Cultural and Religious Issues section of the Circumcision Information Pages)

This index page is a menu of articles on various religious and cultural aspects of male circumcision.

Religious articles

Christianity

• The Holy Bible. Passages relating to circumcision.

Roman Catholic

• Eugenius IV. Bull of Union with the Copts, Ecumenical Council of Florence, 4 February 1442.
• Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994) . An extract related to non-therapeutic circumcision.
• Fadel P. An open letter to the physicians of the Catholic Medical Association. Linacre Q 2003;70(2):143-9.
• Fadel P. Respect for bodily integrity: a catholic perspective on circumcision in Catholic hospitals. Am J Bioeth 2003;3(2):1f-3f.
• Father John J. Dietzen. The Morality of Circumcision. The Tablet, Brooklyn, N.Y., 30 October 2004, p. 33.
• Clark PA. Clark PA. To circumcise or not to circumcise?: a Catholic ethicist argues that the practice is not in the best interest of male infants. Health Prog 2006;87(5):30-9.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) scriptural advice on circumcision.

Judaism

• The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion Entry on circumcision: "It was probably in order to prevent the possibility of obliterating the traces of circumcision that the rabbis added to the requirement of cutting the foreskin that of peri'ah (laying bare the glans)..."
• Moses Maimonides, (1190 C.E.) "The Guide of the Perplexed". (Rationales for Jewish Circumcision.)
• Rabbi Isaac ben Yedaiah (late 13th century France) gives an opinion concerning why circumcision is advised for Jewish males. In: Marc Saperstein. Decoding the Rabbis: A Thirteenth-Century Commentary on the Aggadah. Cambridge, Mass, and London, England: Harvard University Press, 1980: pp. 97-98.
• National Organization of American Mohalim. Berit Mila Newsletter. (Offsite link)
• The Meaning of Circumcision Sichos in English, pp. 211-215.
• Larue GA. Religious Traditions and Circumcision. The Second International Symposium on Circumcision, San Francisco, California, April 30-May 3, 1991. (Link to www.nocirc.org)
• Jacob Neusner, tranlator. The Talmud of Babylonia: An American Translation. Number 251. Volume XIII.B: Tractate Yebamot, Chapters 4-6. Program in Judaic Studies Brown University. Atlanta: Scholars Press. 1992.
• Goodman J. Jewish circumcision: an alternative perspective. BJU Int 1999;83 Suppl 1:22-27.

Cultural articles

• Sami Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh. To Mutilate in the Name of Jehovah or Allah: Legitimization of Male and Female Circumcision. (Translation by Frederick M. Hodges, D. Phil. (Oxon).) Medicine and Law, vol. 13, no. 7-8 ( July 1994): pp. 575-622.
• Grisaru N, Lezer S, Belmaker RH. Ritual Female Genital Surgery among Ethiopian Jews. Archives of Sexual Behavior 1997;26(2): 1997.
• Marck J. Aspects of male circumcision in sub-equatorial Africa cultural history.. Health Transition Review 1997; 7 (Supplement): 337-359.

Canada

• LeBourdais E. Circumcision no longer a "routine" surgical procedure. Can Med Assoc J 1995;152(11):1873-6.
• Jackie Smith. The growing consensus against circumcision. National Post, Toronto, 30 August 2002.
• College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. Policy Manual: Infant Male Circumcision. Vancouver, BC: College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, 2004.

Philippine Islands

• Ramos GAS. Circumcision: the uncut version. Healthbeat (Manila) 2003.

South Korea

• Kim DS, Lee JY, Pang MG. Male circumcision: a South Korean perspective. BJU Int 1999;83, Suppl 1:28-33.
• Pang MG, Kim DS. Extraordinarily high rates of male circumcision in South Korea: history and underlying causes. BJU Int 2002;89:48-54.
• Ku JH, Kim ME, Lee NK, Park YH. Circumcision practice patterns in South Korea: community based survey. Sex Transm Inf 2003;79:65-7.

Turkey

• Sahin F, Beyazova U, Akturk A. Attitudes and practices regarding circumcision in Turkey. Child Care Health Dev 2003;29(4):275.
• Verit A. Circumcision phenomenon in Turkey as a traditional country: from past to present. Uroweb 2003.

United States

• Paige KE. The ritual of circumcision. Human Nature 1978;1(5):40-8.
• Riner R. (1989) Circumcision: a riddle of american culture. The First International Symposium on Circumcision, Anaheim, California, March 1-2, 1989. (Link to www.nocirc.org)
• Zoske J. Male circumcision: a gender perspective. The Journal of Men's Studies 1998;6(2):189-208. (link to www.noharmm.org/)
• Geoffrey P. Miller. Circumcision: A Cultural-Legal Analysis. 9 Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law 498-585 (2002).
• Sarah E. Waldeck. Using Circumcision to Understand Social Norms. 72 University of Cincinnati Law Rev 455 (2003).