Why Are Plural Marriages Illegal?

Polygamy is a widely banned practice worldwide, with the United Nations Human Rights Committee calling for its abolishment. However, there are limits to government administration of marriages, such as in Germany where polygamy is illegal and punishable with fines or prison time up to three years. In many countries, the law only recognizes monogamous marriages, but adultery is not illegal, leading to a situation of de facto polygamy being allowed without legal recognition.

Polygyny is more common than other forms of plural marriage due to how humans are psychologically adapted for mating. The Jewish Torah and Christian Old Testament mention several instances of accepted plural marriages, including by Abraham, Jacob, and David. However, the practice was disavowed by these groups.

Laws against plural marriages are so rarely prosecuted that a strong case can be made that they are already de facto legal. The object of Oppals’ anger is Bountiful, a polygamous community outside Creston, B.C., which has operated with impunity for more than 60 years, despite allegations of forced marriages of underage girls, child abuse, and the…

Polygamy is illegal in Western countries historically because the Bible (as well as a cult) abused women and the process. The Catholic Church abandoned the Bible and women, and tried to uphold the ideal form of marriage. In the United States, de facto polygamy is illegal under federal law, the Edmunds Act, and all states have laws against bigamy. Polygamy is often illegal due to concerns about gender equality, social stability, and potential abuse and exploitation of individuals.

Why plural marriage does not work?

Children, too, appear to suffer in polygamous cultures. Henrich examines a study comparing 19th-century Mormon households, 45 of them headed by wealthy men, generally with multiple wives, and 45 headed by poorer men, generally with one wife each. Whats surprising is that the children of the poorer men actually fared better, proving more likely to survive to age 15. Granted, this is a small study, but its consistent with other studies, including one from Africa showing that the children of monogamous households tend to do better than those from polygynous households in the same communities. Why? Some scholars suspect that polygyny may discourage paternal investment. Men with lots of children and wives are spread too thin, and to make things worse, theyre compiling resources to attract their next wives instead of using it on their existing families.

Must polygamy always bring these social ills? Is it possible to be polygamous in a way thats good for you and everyone else? Maybe. Historically, problems have cropped up when polygamy is widespread in a culture with great disparities in wealth, and a few men hoard all the women. But it has worked in small cultures where there arent a lot of differences in wealth and status. Coontz points to past Native American societies that occasionally engaged in whats known as sororal polygyny, in which a man married to one woman might also marry her sister, perhaps after the sisters husband died.

Its possible that even in a large, deeply stratified society like ours, rare instances of polygamy wouldnt foster gender inequity and roving bands of unhappy single men, provided those instances were spread out among a largely monogamous population. But its hard to imagine that, because it isnt how it has played out here. Instead, American polygamy occurs in close-knit fundamentalist Mormon communities, in which young women often do appear to be subordinated and from which young men—the so-called “lost boys”—are exiled to reduce the competition for wives. Has fundamentalist Mormon culture shaped the expression of polygamy, or has widespread polygamy shaped fundamentalist Mormon culture? Its hard to separate the two.

And this is exactly Henrichs point: Polygamy may actually exacerbate inequities in wealth and gender that hurt societies, even if the institution itself appears neutral. Crime and chaos are threatening. Christianity may have brought monogamy to Europe and many other places, but those cultures succeeded because monogamy happened to suit them. In other words, as far as social evolution is concerned, the best form of marriage for a given society isnt really about whats moral, but what works.

Why did polygamy become illegal?

Only about 2% of the global population lives in polygamous households, and in the vast majority of countries, that share is under 0.5%. Polygamy is banned throughout much of the world, and the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which has said that “polygamy violates the dignity of women,” called for it to “be definitely abolished wherever it continues to exist.” But there often are limits to government administration of marriages. In many countries, marriages are governed by religious or customary law, which means that oversight is in the hands of clerics or community leaders.

Polygamy is most often found in sub-Saharan Africa, where 11% of the population lives in arrangements that include more than one spouse. Polygamy is widespread in a cluster of countries in West and Central Africa, including Burkina Faso, (36%), Mali (34%) and Nigeria (28%). In these countries, polygamy is legal, at least to some extent. Muslims in Africa are more likely than Christians to live in this type of arrangement (25% vs. 3%), but in some countries, the practice also is widespread among adherents of folk religions and people who do not identify with a religion. For example, in Burkina Faso, 45% of people who practice folk religions, 40% of Muslims and 24% of Christians live in polygamous households. Chad is the only country in this analysis where Christians (21%) are more likely than Muslims (10%) to live in this type of arrangement.

Many of the countries that permit polygamy have Muslim majorities, and the practice is rare in many of them. Fewer than 1% of Muslim men live with more than one spouse in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Egypt – all countries where the practice is legal at least for Muslims. Polygamy is also legal in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other neighboring countries, but these were not included in the study due to data limitations. Muslim supporters of polygamy often cite Quran verse 4:3, which instructs men to take as many wives as they can take care of, up to four, and they also point out that the Prophet Muhammad had multiple wives. Historians have noted that Islamic guidance on polygamy was issued amid wars in Arabia in the seventh century, when there were many widows and orphans requiring financial support, and that polygamy created a system for them to be cared for. To this day, polygamy is most common in places where people, and particularly men, tend to die young.

Why is polygamy allowed?

Third, it is often forgotten that there was a socio-historical context within which the verse was revealed. That context was a period of tragedy in Islam after the battle of Uhud, when dozens of men from the still formative Muslim community in Medina were killed in one day. Numerous women and children were left without support. To deal with this problem, Allah revealed the verse permitting men to be polygamous. Given the tragedy of the battle of Uhud, Allah could have sanctioned the existing practice of unlimited polygyny; but instead, while allowing men to be polygynous, Allah restricted the number to four. We wish to emphasize that the clear intention in the Quran is to restrict polygyny. Unfortunately, in practice, the restrictions imposed in the Quran have often not been applied, and the context within which the verse was revealed has been completely overlooked. By stressing the need for just conduct toward women and the need for equal treatment of each wife and recognizing the difficulty, if not the impossibility, of doing so (4:129), this verse, in fact advocates.

As the original and ideal state of marriage in Islam.

Muhammed Asadi, a contemporary author and independent rationalist scholar of Islam, has published an extensive Web site and several books arguing, for example, that Islam and science are complementary. He views Islam as more progressive than other world religions in regard to women. ummah.net/islam/taqwapalace/islam/set6.htm.

Is polygamy anti-feminist?

Is polygamy antithetical to feminism? – Quora. In principle, no. In a hypothetical world not characterized by unequal power based on gender, people could form any kind of intimate or family relationships they chose without inequality.

How do Mormons justify polygamy?

Morality and preventing temptationedit. An early church leader argued that polygamy has historically been the main form of marriage and that polygamy is the most moral form of marriage.29: 44 Polygamy was sometimes explained as a way to prevent men from falling into sexual temptation,28 while monogamy was immoral and increased the likelihood of sexual temptation.29: 44.

Biblical precedenceedit. Some who practiced polygamy defended it as a religious practice that was taught in the Bible.3229: 44.

Teachings on the multiple wives of God and Jesusedit. Top leaders used the examples of the polygamy of God the Father and Jesus Christ in defense of it and these teachings on God and Jesus polygamy were widely accepted among Latter-day Saints by the late 1850s.333435 In 1853, Jedediah M. Grant—who later become a member of the First Presidency—stated that the top reason behind the persecution of Christ and his disciples was due to their practice of polygamy.36bettersourceneeded33 Two months later, apostle Orson Pratt taught in a church periodical that We have now clearly shown that God the Father had a plurality of wives, and that after her death, Mary (the mother of Jesus) may have become another eternal polygamous wife of God.37original research? He also stated that Christ had multiple wives—Mary of Bethany, Martha, and Mary Magdalene—as further evidence in defense of polygamy.33 In the next two years the apostle Orson Hyde also stated during two general conference addresses that Jesus practiced polygamy33 and repeated this in an 1857 address.38original research?

Are men naturally polygamous?

Polygamy is not the desire for more partners. Men are not naturally polygamous, neither is a woman. Everyone desires more.

Interestingly, polygamy only does apply to the married — a bachelor(rette) or a person in a monogamous marriage cant be polygamous — if anything, youre promiscuous.Also, those who after beguiling another on the grounds of monogamy, only to then break their vows by taking another are liars!

Polygamy is the maturity in mind, human force and resources to take responsibility for more (spouses)— However, it goes a step further. It doesnt hide behind the mask of monogamy.

With this realization, all men cannot be polygamous, extensively showing all men by nature are not polygamous.

Why is polyamory ok but not polygamy?

Both polyamory and polygamy can be practiced ethically when all parties involved are consenting adults. However, polygamy has been historically associated with patriarchal societies and abuse, which has led to its illegality in many countries. In contrast, polyamory focuses on consensual relationships without hierarchy or marriage.

Solopoly, or solo polyamory, refers to people who engage in multiple romantic relationships but maintain their independence and do not prioritize one relationship over another. People who practice solopoly may not cohabit or share finances with any of their partners, prioritizing their autonomy and personal freedom.

What is the difference between polygamy and polyandry?

How many wives did Jesus have?

Christian tradition has long held that Jesus was not married, even though no reliable historical evidence exists to support that claim, King said in a press release. This new gospel doesnt prove that Jesus was married, but it tells us that the whole question only came up as part of vociferous debates about sexuality and marriage. From the very beginning, Christians disagreed about whether it was better not to marry, but it was over a century after Jesus death before they began appealing to Jesus marital status to support their positions.

King adds that this new gospel also tells us that some early Christians believed that Jesus was indeed married.

The New York Times reports that the provenance of the fragment is not known because the owner asked to remain anonymous. Still, the Times reports, this ancient debate is relevant today:

How do feminists view polygamy?

Because most feminists believe polygamy is harmful to women, they will support continued criminalization. By definition, on the other hand, constitutionalists advocate limiting the powers of liberal states, meaning they will seek decriminalization.

Greschner, DonnaCan Constitutions Be for Women Too? 20 1986.

Stueck, WendyLegal Experts Split over Constitutionality of Oppals Move against Polygamy 9 2009.

Keller, JamesPolygamy Court Case Will Proceed without Bountiful Leader, Says LawyerThe Canadian Press 2010Google Scholar.

Did Adam have two wives?

Lilith and Eve – wives of Adam.