Rabbi Sued After Baby Injured During Circumcision

[Jesus Malverde]

26. If fewer Americans circumcise, will Jews be willing to maintain tradition?

The broader culture has undoubtedly influenced the increased questioning among American Jews about circumcision.

Since 1979, the national rate went down 10 percent overall (or 6 percentage points, to 58 percent). The region with the steepest drop by far was the West, where the overall percentage of newborns circumcised went down 37 percent, to 40 percent.

Especially in the Northeast and Midwest, circumcision has been the mainstream American thing to do. American Jews didn’t have to consider as a factor the possibility that their sons would stand out.

While it’s unclear if the rates will drop further, or rise, the mere possibility raises the question: Would this highly assimilated group of Americans, who in high numbers reject other barometers of religiosity like synagogue membership and belief in God, continue circumcising if they knew it would make their sons look different?

“I’d bet my house on this: As America goes, so will circumcision. If America starts turning against this, give it one generation,” said Shira Stutman, rabbi at the millennial-focused D.C. synagogue, Sixth & I.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/if-fewer-americans-circumcise-will-jews-be-willing-to-stand-out/2013/12/25/f636b5d8-69be-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html