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Child sacrifice, the killing of young children as an offering to deities, has been practiced in various cultures and religions throughout history. Examples include sealing children in building foundations for protection and sacrificing them at border crossings. The Bible contains references to child sacrifice, including God commanding Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Human sacrifice is rare in modern times and often the work of mentally unstable individuals rather than religious rituals.
Child sacrifice is the killing of an infant or young child as an offering to one or more deities. It can be conducted as part of a religious observance, ritual or service. The sacrifice of children and adults to the gods has been practiced since ancient times as part of some cultural and religious observances. There are several references to child sacrifice in the Bible, with one of the most prominent examples being God commanding Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, in Genesis 22.
Among the earliest forms of child sacrifice was the killing of children in an attempt to bring divine protection to buildings or passageways through dangerous areas. Evidence of such sacrifices has been found in Asia, Europe and Africa. Children were sealed in walls or foundations while buildings were erected because their spirits were believed to offer protection. Children were also sacrificed at border crossings to appease foreign deities before entering new lands.
One of the best documented examples of human sacrifice was between the pre-Columbian Inca culture of Peru and the Aztec culture of Mexico. As part of the human sacrifice practiced in these societies, child sacrifice was prevalent, especially among the Incas. Cannibalism of sacrificed victims among the Aztecs is also believed to have been part of rituals.
In Judeo-Christian scripture, Isaac is spared as a victim of sacrifice due to the appearance of a lamb that God instructs Abraham to kill in place of his son. In the book of Judges, however, Jephthah makes a fiery sacrifice of her daughter after victory in battle. This sacrifice of a child in the Judeo-Christian tradition, however, is seen by most scholars as a tragic transgression on Jephthah’s part.
The Bible contains several accounts of child sacrifices practiced by other societies. Carthage and Phenicia were known in the ancient world as places where babies and children were sacrificed. Some sources suggest that babies and children were burned alive so the parents could fulfill the vows they had made to the gods.
Most scholars and researchers agree that human sacrifice in general, and child sacrifice in particular, rarely occurs in the modern world. There are occasional accounts suggesting that a human sacrifice may have been made. These are more often found to be the work of a person who was mentally unstable and not one who killed as part of a religious ritual.
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