Religious male circumcision generally occurs shortly after
birth, during childhood or around puberty as part of a
rite of passage.
Circumcision is most prevalent in the religions of
Judaism and
Islam. Circumcision is common in some predominantly
Christian countries such as the
United States, the
Philippines,
South Korea,
Ethiopia, and
Kenya, and is also widely practiced among
Christians from
Egypt,
Syria,
Lebanon,
Jordan,
Palestine,
Israel, and
North Africa. Circumcision is less common in
Europe,
East Asia and
Latin America. It is practiced by the Muslim population in
India and amongst some
Indian Christians. Hodges argues that in
Ancient Greece the
foreskin was valued and that Greek and Roman attempts to abolish ritual circumcision were prompted by humanitarian concerns.