Support for Religious Traditions: Politicians Welcome German Circumcision Motion

[sysop]

Germany's parliament approved a resolution on Thursday that called on Berlin to create legislation that would ensure that circumcision of boys remain legal in the country. The move is intended to quiet international outrage over a recent German court ruling that criminalizes the tradition.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...845535,00.html

[Real Ale]

Circumcision is wrong; it is a savage ancient practice that has no place in modern civilisation. The issue is not about religious freedom, of which there is ample, but about the protection of children. Indeed, true freedom will allow people to decide their own religious beliefs and practices at a time they are ready; not having religion and its practices imposed on them from an early age.

The government's reaction is kneejerk; the court is wholly correct and just. If the ban on circumcision is upheld, Germany will definitely not be a laughing stock but an upholder of esteemed moral principles.

[JoeOvercoat]

Circumcision reduces the transmission of AIDS...what more does anyone need to know?

I find it amazing, and sad, that this issue is cast solely in a religious light.

[Real Ale]

Circumcision preventing the spread of AIDS & HIV is a fallacy; there are very few in the scientific community who believe it and the evidence is firmly weighted against such a belief.

The issue is solely about the protection of children from harm by zealots and medical malpractice.

Furthermore, a mature, intelligent, and most importantly, secular society must have the courage to question and curb antiquated religious practices that are contrary to its ethics.

Lastly, the stigma of past sins should not be allowed to cloud an issue which is, as I have clearly stated, about the protection of children.

[geborgen]

Those who support the Merkel administration's instant pandering on the circumcision question cry out that it's unfathomable and unfair that circumcision is suddenly coming under fire after 4,000 years of evidence that it's fine. The real reason for this climate of hostility must be a surge of disgust toward the religious!

Actually, it's probably not. For those too blind to see, the science of the foreskin has been moving forward for the past two decades. In 1996 the first comprehensive histological and neurological analysis of the foreskin was published in the British Journal of Urology. Until that time, it was unknown that the foreskin contains specialized muscle tissue, thousands and thousands of fine-touch receptors, and retains antiviral and antibacterial secretions. Could this be one reason that the USA has the highest HIV rate among OECD countries? Sensitivity studies have also been completed. The foreskin is dramatically more innervated than the glans and far more anatomically complex, and the structures are designed to complement one another.

Judaism itself stresses that it is open to change with new discoveries and understanding. Well, we now know that the foreskin is functional and valuable. We've always known that it can be enormously pleasurable. More than ever, it is understood that the foreskin is integral to the male urogenital tract and its damage or removal represents a significant loss.

For thousands of years, Jews and Muslims have severed foreskins without the slightest idea about the anatomy or functionality of this piece of the body. Now science is telling us, and the religious leaders want us all to stick our heads back in the sand. It is selfish, it is unreasonable, and their ultimatums are blackmail. The Bundestag, most of whose members intuitively know the value of being intact and now can read the science, should let the court ruling stand.