A rite of passage can be termed as a ceremony or rather a given ritual often used to mark a person’s transition from one stage or status to another. It involves a significant change in the individual’s status in society. This essay is going to exhaustively discuss the origin, purpose, ceremonies, rituals involved and impacts of circumcision as a rite of passage in Christianity.
Origin, Purpose, Ceremonies and Rituals involved in Circumcision
Circumcision, according to the Christian religion, is the removal of the Jewish boys’ foreskin. It originated from a covenant made between God and the Jewish people. The purpose of circumcision is to mark the individuals as one of the Jewish or Christian’s religion with Yahweh as their God. The ceremony is performed in a synagogue during the eighth day from when the child is born. According to the Jewish culture, the baby’s mother hands the child to the synagogue messengers who in turn take the child to where the circumcision takes place. The baby is placed on the ‘chair of Elijah’ as the ritual circumciser chants, “this is the chair of Elijah”, asking him to enable the circumcision process to happen smoothly (Cohen, 2013).
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Impacts of Circumcision on Individual’s Socialization and Social Status
Apart from being in accordance with the creator, circumcision also has other impacts on individuals undergoing it, most important being the health of the individual. A research indicates that Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) is likely to diminish the chances of transmitting HIV through sex from females to males by approximately 60% (Sgaier et al., 2014). Other impacts include the reduction in penile cancer, general cleanliness and other sexually transmitted diseases in men.
In a nutshell, circumcision is the removal of the foreskin from the penis. Its origin is traced back in the Jewish culture whereby it was performed to remind them of their covenant with God. Though t is holds a biblical origin, circumcision is also practiced by other religions across the world for health purposes such as an effort to reduce sexual transmission of HIV and STD.
References
COHEN, J. M. (2013). Phinehas, Elijah & Circumcision. Jewish Bible Quarterly , 41 (1), 14–18.
Sema K Sgaier, Jason B Reed, Anne Thomas, & Emmanuel Njeuhmeli, (2014). Achieving the HIV prevention impact of voluntary medical male circumcision: lessons and challenges for managing programs. PLoS Medicine, Vol 11, Iss 5, p E1001641 (2014) , (5), e1001641. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001641.
