Circumcision has been performed for thousands of years and is part of a number of religious and cultural traditions. From the religious standpoint, it is part of the Judeo-Christian belief. Circumcision was a covenant between Abraham and God in the Old Testament, and the New Testament tells us that Jesus was circumcised in the accepted Jewish fashion at age 8 days. Moslems also perform circumcision, but it is done at various ages in childhood. From the secular standpoint it has been theorized that desert-dwelling people in tropical lands began to be circumcised for reasons of cleanliness ("circumcision and sand") and to avoid severe foreskin infections. During World War II, poor hygienic conditions during the African invasion in the desert areas resulted in foreskin infections in over 100,000 U.S. soldiers, and lead the Armed forces to perform adult circumcision among many recruits. This WW II experience is the likely explanation for the fact that following the war in the 1950s and 1960s almost 90% of U.S. newborns were circumcised.

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