Additional Post: Male Circumcision Lecture

This last Wednesday I had the opportunity to attend a talk by Professor Robert Bailey. Professor Bailey spoke about the benefits of circumcision for HIV/AIDS prevention, but he also spent a fair amount of time talking about the religious and cultural significance of this practice. I found it particularly interesting that Professor Bailey decided to elaborate on the interconnectedness of a specific religious tradition and its practical health benefits.

During his lecture, Professor Bailey stressed that circumcision has been around for a long period of time, and that it predates the formal foundation of both Judaism and Islam. However, male circumcision is a extremely important tradition in both of these cultures. Although circumcision may be done for aesthetic or personal reasons, it also offers many potential health benefits. Specifically, male circumcision allows for the keratinization of the inner mucosal membrane of the foreskin (which is prone to inflammation and infection).

Apparently, circumcision is practically a necessity for people living in sandy desert climates. Professor Bailey noted that during the first World War, over 170,000 American troops were hospitalized with serious infections that were caused by particles of sand trapped under the foreskin. After these troops returned home, male circumcision became commonplace in America (in areas like the Midwest, approximately 90% of all men are circumcised). In this way, a beneficial medical procedure became medically and culturally commonplace.

Similarly, it is thought that the religions of Judaism and Islam adopted the previously existing procedure of circumcision and turned it into a rite of passage. Specifically, in the religion of Judaism, male circumcision is now supposed to be an outward symbolic representation of the eternal covenant between God and all Jewish people. I find this particularly interesting, as one generally wouldn’t associate a specific medical procedure with a religion. However, in terms of fostering a group identity, I can hardly think of a more personal form of body modification that is shared by a group of people. This certainly relates to the ability of religions to adopt beneficial practices and change over time; by imbuing a necessary and beneficial medical procedure with religious meaning, both Judaism and Islam ensure health and a stronger sense of community.