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In many cultures circumcision during puberty serves as a rite of passage, bringing adolescents into the community. As with other painful or humiliating initiation rites, proof of courage and mastering of critical situations are the key motivations. From some African tribes it is also known that the amputation of the [[foreskin]] is seen as the removal of an inborn piece of femininity from the boys, thus making them men.
===Judaism===
In the Jewish religion, the tradition of circumcision goes back to a passage in the Book of Genesis (17, 10-14). It is seen as a covenant between God and man, dating back to the patriarch Abraham.
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According to the anthropologist and sociologist Nissan Rubin, the Jewish form of circumcision, called ''brit mila'', during the first two millennia did not include the later customary ''periah'', namely the complete scraping of the inner [[foreskin]] from the [[Glans penis|glans]]. This was only added around 135 AD, to make it impossible to restore the [[foreskin]] by stretching, which became popular in the wake of Hellenic influence. While originally only the tip of the [[foreskin]] was cut off, periah removes the entire [[foreskin]]. In the Greek society of the day, a denuded [[Glans penis|glans]] was considered obscene and risible. In ultra-orthodox communities, circumcision is followed by the [[mohel]], the ritual circumciser, sucking blood from the wound with his mouth. This practice is highly controversial, as it can result in an infection with herpes simplex type 1. In New York City, between 2000 and 2011 eleven children were infected with herpes, 10 of whom had to be treated in hospital. Two of them suffered permanent brain damage, two others died. In the 12th century, the Jewish philosopher and doctor Maimonides pointed out that circumcision was necessary, as it diminished sexual desires and reduced the pleasure to a degree just sufficient for mere reproduction.
===Islam===
In Islam, circumcision is also religiously founded, even though there is no mention of it in the Koran itself. According to tradition, the Prophet Mohammed was born without a [[foreskin]]. It is seen as a sign of prophets that they are born without a [[foreskin]] already. It is considered an honour to "resemble the example of the Prophet", meaning to be circumcised. In Islam, unlike Judaism, there is no specific age at which the circumcision should be performed. Most circumcisions take place at ages between 6 and 10 years, but the range goes from birth to adulthood.
===Christianity===When Christian leaders met at the Council at Jerusalem in the First Century to decide what was required to be a Christian. A letter was written to explain the requirements, but circumcision was omitted from the requirements.<ref>{{REFweb |url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+15%3A1-30&version=NASB |title=Acts 15:1-30 |last= |first= |accessdate=2019-11-10}}</ref> In Christianity, circumcision is practiced only common in a few orthodox Coptic churches. There is no general belief that circumcision is a requirement of Christianity.<ref>{{REFweb |url=http://www.cirp.org/pages/cultural/christian.html |title=The Holy Bible, Circumcision, False Prophets, and Christian Parents |trans-title= |language= |last=Hill |first=George |author-link=George Hill |publisher=Circumcision Reference Library |website= |date=2004-08-29 |accessdate=2019-11-10 |format=HTML |quote=The falseness of those who advocate circumcision is a recurrent theme in the New Testament. }}</ref> Nevertheless, Christian moral notions had decisive influence on the spread of this practice. In the puritan influenced USA, circumcision of children was popular in the 19th century as a means to prevent [[masturbation]]. In those days, this so-called ‘self-abuse‘ was not only considered immoral, but was supposedly responsible for a variety of diseases. Even the mere existence of a [[foreskin]] was linked to many illnesses. Among them one could find syphilis, epilepsy, paralysis of the spine, bed wetting, scoliosis (spinal deformity), paralysis of the bladder, club foot, nerve pain in the lower abdomen, tuberculosis and lazy eye. One of the best known advocates of child circumcision was [[John Harvey Kellogg]], co-inventor of the Corn Flakes corn flakes bearing his name. In 1888, he wrote:
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===Search for prophylactic reasons===
Following the discovery of bacteria as a cause of many diseases – such as tuberculosis – the search began for other illnesses that could be prevented by circumcision.
* [[Circumcision scar]]
* [[Circumpendium]]
* [[Human rights]]
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