When did Christians in America begin circumcising their sons?

Answer 1

I dunno but it's barbaric, backwards & causes great pain and trauma.

How unchristian...

Answer 2

About 1900...

"There are several hypotheses to explain why infant circumcision was accepted in the United States about the year 1900. The success of the germ theory of disease made surgery safer, and made the public suspicious of dirt and bodily secretions, so circumcision was seen as good penile hygiene.[5] Some of the other possible reasons include because it was thought to be a way to discourage masturbation, [110] and to protect against syphilis.[111]

Infant circumcision was taken up in the United States, Australia and the English-speaking parts of Canada, South Africa and to a lesser extent in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Although it is difficult to determine historical circumcision rates, one estimate[6] of infant circumcision rates in the United States holds that 30% of newborn American boys were being circumcised in 1900, 55% in 1925, and 72% in 1950."

Answer 3

During the 1870s, pioneered by Dr. Lewis Sayre. Not done for religious reasons, but as a "health procedure" (with significant aesthetic, cultural, and philosophical overtones, IMO).


On February 9, 1870, Dr. Lewis Sayre was summoned to consult on a perplexing case: a 5-year old boy unable to walk or stand erect without assistance. Sayre diagnosed the boy's condition as resulting from his penis being unduly constricted by the surrounding foreskin and recommended that the boy be circumcised. The child's health actually improved. Sayre tried the same technique on a few other children and discovered that their health also improved.

He then published his astonishing results in the Transactions of the American Medical Association, convinced that he had discovered the cure to a whole variety of childhood maladies supposedly caused by "an adherent or constricted prepuce."

Sayre was one of the most prominent physicians in the United States at the time. In 1880, he was to be elected president of the American Medical Association (AMA).

For nearly 30 years, Sayre zealously promoted circumcision as a cure for a wide variety of maladies, proposing that "peripheral irritation" from the foreskin could produce "an insanity of the muscles," meaning that the muscles would act involuntarily "without the controlling power of the person's brain."

Unfortunately, Sayre's claims led to others trying similar experiments. Sims and other physicians developed a whole host of new genital surgeries designed to alleviate psychological problems --"cutting the body to cure the mind." Significantly, these procedures were not marginal medical procedures practiced by a handful of crackpots; rather they were "central in the arsenal of late-nineteenth-century gynecology." Moreover, they were still being practiced in the U.S. long after they were abandoned in Europe.

What is notable in retrospect, though, is that while female sexual surgery gradually declined, male circumcision eventually became standard practice, despite much evidence indicating that it was of negligible medical value as a routine procedure.

Answer 4

1977

Answer 5

1957

Answer 6

For religious reason?
I don't think any have.
Circumcision in the US began in the 1890's for medical reasons. It peaked at about 1980 and has been used less ever since.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision

Answer 7

I am not sure, but in the bible it hints that an uncircumcised man is "Unclean" I had my son circumcised because my cousin(when he was 3) was uncircumcised and the skin started growing together (my aunt is a very clean person and of course didn't want her son to suffer). So, she had to get his done.

I had my son circumcised so he wouldn't have to get done later. I had it done for health reasons more than religious reasons.

Answer 8

That's a good question, but it's really more about non-Jews doing it for hygiene reasons. . I know by 1983 when my older son was born, it was routinely done in the hospital. By the time I had my second son in 1986, there was already some backlash against doing this on a routine basis for non-religious reasons. Most evidence seems to show that it is healthier, not just for men, but for the women they, shall we say, eventually marry.

Answer 9

Religion plays no role in circumcision.

Answer 10

Since at least 1987!! ha

Answer 11

Early 20th Century -- at the time, it was done for hygenic reasons, and as a supposed "cure" for masturbation...