While some of us may think that sitting through a religious service every week is painful, there are numerous religious rituals practiced throughout the world that truly inflict severe physical pain on their participants.  One of the most common and well known painful religious practices is male circumcision.  Circumcision is common in both Judaism and Islam.  The foreskin of the penis is removed during the circumcision procedure.  Studies have shown strong evidence that even in newborns who undergo this procedure, there is quite a bit of pain involved.  Female circumcision is another practice that is common in Africa for people of different faiths and is a source of great controversy.