In mid July a German court pronounced a ban on circumcision in the country.

Meanwhile, for once Jewish and Muslim religious leaders agreed on an issue. They both promised to ignore the new law and continue their religious rituals as before. A number of Christian leaders also supported them on the grounds that freedom of religion was under assault.

Since then, many other countries in the European Community are considering similar bans. Now comes this crazy idea from Norway that the Jews and Muslims should be forced into to performing some sort of  ‘symbolic ritual’ instead of the traditional ritual dictated by their respective religions. Here’s the story from Jerusalem Post:

THE HAGUE – Norway’s ombudsman for children’s rights has proposed that Jews and Muslim replace male circumcision with a symbolic, nonsurgical ritual.

Dr. Anne Lindboe told the newspaper Vart Land last month that circumcision in boys was a violation of a person’s right to decide over his own body. “Muslim and Jewish children are entitled to the same protection as all other children,“ she said. She added that the practice caused unnecessary pain and was medically unbeneficial.

Lindboe, a pediatrician, was appointed ombudsman in June. Her predecessor, Reidar Hjermann, proposed setting 15 as the minimum age for circumcision. According to Jewish religious law, Jewish babies must be circumcised when they are eight days old.

Response: The idea that some sort of ‘symbolic ritual’ could replace a religious requirement and tradition that is thousands of years old is laughable except that is what some are suggesting. It shows a gross lack of understanding and down right ignorance of religion. Not only that, but a real lack of concern and a very dangerous arrogance in the relationship between the state and religion. 

Freedom of religion is obviously under assault in Europe. Religion is no longer part of the lives of many decision makers in government. Therefore from their perspective, it is relegated to the lessor important quirks and traditions of the past European culture that need to be reformed or eliminated in their new version of a modern secular society.

In this case, it is circumcision which is a primary ritual for both Jews and Muslims. But in the last couple of months Christian churches in several countries were forced to allow homosexual marriages.

What will the future bring in Europe when it comes to freedom of religion? Religion no longer plays an important role in the lives of so many Europeans that it is now hard to say what the future may bring. Government and bureaucrats now trump religion nearly at will with only a few objections from Europeans who now seem to be tolerant of almost anything accept religion.

Americans also should not be all that comfortable with this story. Freedom of religion is under assault in our country also but the Constitution fortunately limits the potential damage. Recently the City of San Francisco wanted to ban circumcision there but the city leaders were finally persuaded after a major outcry that it would be anti-Semitic and unconstitutional.            *Top

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