1970s, national medical associations in Australia and Canada issued recommendations against routine infant circumcision, leading to drops in the rates of both of those countries. In the United States, the influential American Academy of Pediatrics has, over the decades, issued a series of policy statements regarding circumcision, sometimes positive, sometimes negative.

An association between circumcision and reduced heterosexual HIV infection rates was suggested in 1986, and then confirmed with the data collected from three large randomized controlled trials in Africa in 2002-2004. Since then, the World Health Organization has been promoting circumcision in high-risk populations.

In the 21st century, circumcision is probably the world’s most widely-performed procedure. It is most often performed for reasons other than medical indication. Circumcision by Muslims for religious purposes, and by Americans for their ownfor converting to Islam.

The Roman Catholic Church formally condemned the ritual observance of circumcision and ordered against its practice in the Ecumenical Council of Basel-Florence in 1442. The Church presently maintains a neutral stance on circumcision as a medical practice.

Circumcision is customary among the Coptic, Ethiopian, and Eritrean Orthodox Churches, and also some other African churches. Some Christian churches in South Africa oppose circumcision, viewing it as a pagan ritual, while others, including the Nomiya church in Kenya, require circumcision for membership. Some Christian churches celebrate the Circumcision of Jesus. The vast majority of Christians do not practise circumcision as a religious requirement.

Circumcision in South Korea is largely the result of American cultural and military influence following the Korean War.

In some African countries, male circumcision is often performed