Browsing by Subject "ympärileikkaus"

Objects: For the past few years there has been a lot of discussion about circumcision performed on infant boys based on religious reasons. NGOs such as Sexpo and Central union of child health care, to mention only few, reject circumcision based on religious and cultural bases. However Jewish organizations consider that the freedom of faith would be violated if circumcision would be criminalized. This thesis tries to clarify the origin of circumcision in Judaism and the importance it has in Judaism and for Jews. It also aims to explain the link between circumcision and Jewish identity. One of the main topics is human rights concerning circumcision. Circumcision does violate the immunity of child's body (TANE 2008; Sexpo 2012; Sexpo 2013; Central Union for Child Welfare 2013). Jewish agencies feel that criminalizing circumcision would be violation against freedom of faith and would endanger practicing of Judaism (Bolotowsky & Kantor 2012; White Paper 2012; Nadbornik 2015). In Judaism, circumcision can be seen as an initiation rite where baby boy is welcomed as a member of Jewish community (Eilberg-Schwartz 1994, 160; Hoffman 1996, 22; Kimmel 2001; Bolotowsky & Kantor 2012). Circumcision can be understood as socialization into the Jewish community (Goldberg 2003, 37). Methods: Qualitative methods were used to gather and analyse the data. Data consists of two discussion groups. To analyse the data I used content analysis and conversation analysis. I used an inductive method in the analysis and interpretation of data. Conclusions: Circumcision still has a strong status among the Finnish jews. It seems to have strong connection with jewish identity and upbringing. A lot of criticism arouse amongst the study participants. Circumsicion was seen as a "necessary evil" to attain certain goals, such as the aforementioned. Human rights were reflected against circumsion with contradictory feelings. The parents were aware about violation of immunity of child and irreversibility of surgery. Still human rights were seen more broadly, and there was enlargement of child's rights. For a future study it would be interesting to investigate if the difference in attitude towards circumcision between mothers and fathers could be generalized.