The Curious Case Of Polygamy

Marriage is a social institution that is practiced globally. Traditionally marriages are known to occur between one man and one woman. However, cultural values and time have reshaped and birthed new types of marriages. Polygamy is a type of marriage that is often practiced around the world specifically in Asia, Middle East, and Africa. Polyamorous marriages have been in existence for centuries. Polygamy is classified into two categories, polygyny, and polyandry. Polygyny is the most popular type of polygamy, in this type of polygamous marriage, a man is married to multiple women. On the other hand, polyandry which is the least familiar type of polygamy is where a woman is married to multiple husbands. The intolerance of Mormons in the United States has led to the outlawing of polyamorous marriages. The Morrill Anti Bigamy law of 1862 outlawed the practice of polygamy in the United States. Like many other laws, this law can be overturned. In fact, it should be reversed because illegalizing polygamy is unethical. Polygamy should be legalized because it is unconstitutional for it to be illegal, same-sex marriages and interracial marriages are legal, therefore so should polyamorous marriages. In addition, legalizing polygamy would prevent immigrant families who practice polygamy from being separated and it would also strengthen the feminist movement.

Could you imagine living in a world where it is acceptable for a man to marry more than one woman and be open about it? Not many can and that is why the practice of polygamy such is seen as taboo. The families usually live very private lives and they do not interact with a lot of the rest of America due to anti-bigamy society we live in. Polygamy is the practice of being married to more than one person at the same time (Webster 2015). This is not to be confused with an open relationship or an open marriage. This topic has been viewed and deemed as controversial for many years. As a practice that was not accepted in the public eye, it recently has gained more attention with mainstream media and culture. With shows on television such as “Sister

Deborah Evans Met Aaron Conway and his wife Barb Conway five years ago as part of the religious sect Canyon County Family Society that has existed for 25 years with 120 members, which is part of the Mormon Church which strongly believes in polygamist marriages. Ms. Evans moved in with the Conway’s two years ago, in which time Mr. Conway and Ms. Evans began dating even though he has been married to his wife Barb

Everyone wants that special someone with whom they will spend the rest of their life. That someone who will help raise a family and instill great values in their children. But what happens when that person takes more than one spouse? What if they as children with more than one partner? This practice is called polygamy and, by all standards, should be illegal.

The Mormons understood that they needed to take a proactive approach in discovering new members, especially in the beginning of their movement. Mormons also had traveling missionaries to spread their message and recruit new members and followers. A final reason that the Mormon religion was able to flourish for years after its inception was its willingness to change their views on polygamy after being pressured by the American public (Scott). The Mormon Church eventually decided they would no longer endorse polygamy. Today, Mormonism is a growing world religion, while there are no Oneida Perfectionists left today and only a handful of practicing Shaker women remain in parts of New England. There are over twelve million practicing Mormons worldwide,

Issue 3: Section 293 of the Criminal Code of Canada does not infringe on the Equality Rights listed in section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The institution of marriage in Canada has evolved significantly over the years in Canada. Being a very old institution, older than the actual country of Canada, the definition cited in the context of a Canadian courtroom is one that stems from England. In 1866 Lord Penzance articulated that “marriage… may… be defined as the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others”, a definition that is unapologetically Christian (Bala, 2009). By 2005, Canada has altered its legal view of marriage to reflect it instead as an acceptance of same-sex marriage. With this progression, naturally, there came a small cry from a minority population of polygamists using this groundbreaking alteration of one of the oldest interpretations

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) was formally organized in a small log cabin in upstate New York in 1830. It took 117 years — until 1947 — for the Church to grow from the initial six members to one million” (Mormon Newsroom). Many people associate polygamy with Mormonism, however polygamy has been banned in The LDS Church since 1890. Mormons believe they have a Christian faith, but many Protestant Christians do not accept Mormons as genuine Christians because of the differences in beliefs. While Mormonism is a fast growing religion with more than 15 million members, many non-Mormons have misconceptions about what Mormons actually believe (Mormon Newsroom). Although, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints share

Reynolds v. United States was a controversial court case surrounding George Reynolds and his right to practice a specific tradition in his religion: polygamy. Reynolds was a caucasian man living in Utah whose right to freedom of religion was put in question after he was convicted of polygamy. Reynolds was a member of the mormon community, also known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At the time that this incident took place, the mormon society still backed polygamy. Polygamy, also known as bigamy, is the practice of having more than one spouse. Reynolds was a very family-oriented man. He married his first wife Mary Ann Tuddenham in 1865. He served his community in many ways including serving on city council. However, his

The Supreme Court also felt that the donation spirit was also compromised by using it for polygamy. The Church of the Latter-Day Saints had to drop polygamy in order to maintain the land or be continually rejected from the society the Church of the Latter Day Saints wanted to join. The reason this case ended polygamy was because the church would lose the donated lands they practiced their religion on. The loss of these lands would mean the end of the Church of the Latter Day Saint community because the church would be left without a place to practice. One of the ways the Church of the Latter Day Saints would be able to keep land to practice on was to end polygamy, which would end the spread of polygamy. This Supreme Court ruling was based on

Polygamy is the practice of or custom of having more than one husband or wife at a time. Polygamy happens everywhere in the world. Polygamy consists of abnormal lifestyles that non polygamist find unappealing. Most relationships consist of an older man with an extremely younger girl. Some even get arrested for molesting young girls. The men of the order think that abusing and neglecting their women and children is normal and acceptable. Most of the polygamist men in any of the orders have well over twenty wives and hundreds of children. They believe in having many women and children because to them it is the only way to get to the highest degree of glory for them. Some polygamist groups are so huge that many of them are well known across the

There are many laws against polygamy in all 50 states. There have been many times over the years that people have gone to the state about things that involve polygamy. They did not just make polygamy illegal because they didn't like the lifestyle or because they didn't want the people to be happy. They made it illegal because some believe that polygamous groups are guilty of: bigamy, and child abuse, including forced marriage of teens and pre-teens to older men. Polygamy isn't a hard crime but it is very wrong. Even though it is illegal in all 50 states polygamy still happens. It is most common in Asia, Africa, and in the west of the UK. The husband can marriage as many wives as he wants but only the first wife

The debate between, is polygamy ethical and should it be legal is becoming more intense with television shows like “Sisterwives,” “My Five Wives” and “Big Love”. The new generation is more accepting of rights than previous generations. Whether a male wants five wives or to marry anther male, the newest generation just wants everyone to happy.

A woman pushes as hard as she can for the last time. “It’s a baby girl!” the man announces, as the new mother hangs her head in sight of the hardships her baby, Elizabeth, will face. Miles away in a hospital, another woman gives birth to a healthy baby girl, Marley. As she sees her baby for the first time, she smiles knowing all the great adventures this baby will experience in her life. The polygamous mom takes the little girl home to her family, a family where she has more than one mother and many brothers and sisters. As she grows up she lives her life trying to be “proper” and “sweet” in the eyes of the prophet. Somewhere far away, Marley is outside playing with her mother and learning how to be a kid. At the age of fourteen, young girls like Marley are innocent and should be going on dates, having fun with friends, and living their life, but for a fourteen year old Elizabeth, she is married to a man twice her age to be his second wife. As she begins her life with her husband, she sees the jealousy of the first wife and the neglect she feels by her presence. Shortly after, the young girl is replaced by another new wife after having a child. Ever since the day she was born, she had no control over these stages happening. Her fate was determined from time of birth and is determined by men until the day she dies. Her fate will be ruled by the religion of Polygamy.

Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse and is culturally accepted in many parts of the world, but is illegal in the United States. There are two well known forms of polygamy, both of which are still presently practiced in numerous cultures globally, polygyny and polyandry. These practices take place in societies where it is important to have either more men or more women in a families’ household based on the kind of environment they reside in. This paper is going to take a look at who practices polygamy, the history of polygamy in the United States, and how this kind of polygamous lifestyle affects the children that are the products of these family structures.