Polygamy

Polygamy (from Late Greek πολυγαμία, polygamía, "state of marriage to many

spouses"[1][2][3][4]) is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to
more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is
married to more than one husband at a time, it is called polyandry.

In contrast to polygamy, monogamy is marriage consisting of only two parties. Like

"monogamy", the term "polygamy" is often used in a de facto sense, applied regardless of
whether a state recognizes the relationship.[note 1] In sociobiology and zoology, researchers
use polygamy in a broad sense to mean any form of multiple mating.

Worldwide, different societies variously encourage, accept or outlaw polygamy. In societies

which allow or tolerate polygamy, in the vast majority of cases the form accepted is polygyny.
According to the Ethnographic Atlas Codebook (1998), of 1,231 societies noted, 588 had
frequent polygyny, 453 had occasional polygyny, 186 were monogamous and 4 had
polyandry[5] – although more recent research suggests that polyandry may occur more
commonly than previously thought.[6] In cultures which practice polygamy, its prevalence
among that population often correlates with class and socioeconomic status.[7]

From a legal point of view, in many countries, although the law only recognises monogamous
marriages (a person can only have one spouse, and bigamy is illegal), adultery is not illegal,
leading to a situation of de facto polygamy being allowed, although without legal recognition
for non-official "spouses".

Scientific studies classify the human mating system as primarily monogamous, with the
cultural practice of polygamy in the minority, based both on surveys of world populations,[8][9]
and on characteristics of human reproductive physiology.[10][11][12]

Polygamy (taking the form of polygyny) is most common in a region know as the "polygamy
belt" in West Africa and Central Africa, with the countries estimated to have the highest
polygamy prevalence in the world being Burkina Faso, Mali, Gambia, Niger and Nigeria.[13]

Forms

Polygamy exists in three specific forms:

Polygyny, where a man has multiple simultaneous wives

Polyandry, where a woman has multiple simultaneous husbands

Group marriage, where the family unit consists of multiple husbands and multiple wives of
legal age

Polygyny

Incidence

Prince Manga Bell and favorite wives

Polygyny, the practice wherein a man has more than one wife at the same time, is by far the
most common form of polygamy. Many Muslim-majority countries and some countries with
sizable Muslim minorities accept polygyny to varying extents both legally and culturally;
some secular countries like India also accept it to varying degrees. Islamic law or sharia is a
religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition which allows polygyny.[14][15] It is derived
from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran and the hadith. In Arabic, the term
sharīʿah refers to God's (Arabic: ‫ ا‬Allāh) immutable divine law and is contrasted with fiqh,
which refers to its human scholarly interpretations.[16][17][18]
Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than on any other continent,[19][20] especially in West
Africa, and some scholars see the slave trade's impact on the male-to-female sex ratio as a
key factor in the emergence and fortification of polygynous practices in regions of Africa.[21]
According to Pew, Polygamy is widespread in a cluster of countries in West and Central
Africa, including Burkina Faso, (36%), Mali (34%) and Nigeria (28%).[22]

Anthropologist Jack Goody's comparative study of marriage around the world utilizing the
Ethnographic Atlas demonstrated a historical correlation between the practice of extensive
shifting horticulture and polygamy in the majority of sub-Saharan African societies.[23]
Drawing on the work of Ester Boserup, Goody notes that the sexual division of labour varies
between the male-dominated intensive plough-agriculture common in Eurasia and the
extensive shifting horticulture found in sub-Saharan Africa. In some of the sparsely-
populated regions where shifting cultivation takes place in Africa, women do much of the
work. This favours polygamous marriages in which men seek to monopolize the production
of women "who are valued both as workers and as child bearers". Goody however, observes
that the correlation is imperfect and varied, and also discusses more traditionally male-
dominated though relatively extensive farming systems such as those traditionally common
in much of West Africa, especially in the West African savanna, where more agricultural work
is done by men, and where polygyny is desired by men more for the generation of male
offspring whose labor is valued.[24]

Anthropologists Douglas R. White and Michael L. Burton discuss and support Jack Goody's
observation regarding African male farming systems in "Causes of Polygyny: Ecology,
Economy, Kinship, and Warfare"[25]: 884 where these authors note:

Goody (1973) argues against the female contributions h ypothesis.

He notes Dorjahn 's (1959) comparison of East and W est Africa,
showing higher female agricultur al contributions in East Africa
and higher polygyn y rates in West Africa, especially the W est
African savanna, where one finds especially high male agricultur al
contributions. Goody sa ys, "The reasons behind polygyn y are
sexual and reproductive r ather than economic and productive"
(1973:189), arguing that men marry polygynously to maximize
their fertility and to obtain large households containing man y
young dependent males. [25]: 873
Chinese immigrant with his three wives and fourteen children, Cairns, 1904

An analysis by James Fenske (2012) found that child mortality and ecologically-related
economic shocks had a significant association with rates of polygamy in subsaharan Africa,
rather than female agricultural contributions (which are typically relatively small in the West
African savanna and sahel, where polygyny rates are higher), finding that polygyny rates
decrease significantly with child mortality rates.[26]

Types of polygyny

Polygynous marriages fall into two types: sororal polygyny, in which the co-wives are sisters,
and non-sororal, where the co-wives are not related. Polygyny offers husbands the benefit of
allowing them to have more children, may provide them with a larger number of productive
workers (where workers are family), and allows them to establish politically useful ties with a
greater number of kin groups.[27] Senior wives can benefit as well when the addition of junior
wives to the family lightens their workload. Wives', especially senior wives', status in a
community can increase through the addition of other wives, who add to the family's
prosperity or symbolize conspicuous consumption (much as a large house, domestic help, or
expensive vacations operate in a western country). For such reasons, senior wives
sometimes work hard or contribute from their own resources to enable their husbands to
accumulate the bride price for an extra wife.[28]

Polygyny may also result from the practice of levirate marriage. In such cases, the deceased
man's heir may inherit his assets and wife; or, more usually, his brothers may marry the
widow. This provides support for the widow and her children (usually also members of the
brothers' kin group) and maintains the tie between the husbands' and wives' kin groups. The
sororate resembles the levirate, in that a widower must marry the sister of his dead wife. The
family of the late wife, in other words, must provide a replacement for her, thus maintaining
the marriage alliance. Both levirate and sororate may result in a man having multiple
wives.[27]
Village chief and his wives in Guinea, c. 1910

In monogamous societies, wealthy and powerful men established enduring relationships

with, and established separate household for, multiple female partners, aside from their
legitimate wives; a practice accepted in Imperial China up until the Qing Dynasty of 1636–
1912. This constitutes a form of de facto polygyny referred to as concubinage.[29]

Household organization

Marriage is the moment at which a new household is formed, but different arrangements
may occur depending upon the type of marriage and some polygamous marriages do not
result in the formation of a single household. In many polygynous marriages the husband's
wives may live in separate households.[30] They can thus be described as a "series of linked
nuclear families with a 'father' in common".[31]

Polyandry

Incidence

Polyandry, the practice of a woman having more than one husband at the one time, is much
less prevalent than polygyny and is now illegal in virtually every country in the world. It takes
place only in remote communities.[32]

Polyandry is believed to be more common in societies with scarce environmental resources,

as it is believed to limit human population growth and enhance child survival.[33] It is a rare
form of marriage that exists not only among poor families, but also the elite.[34] For example,
in the Himalayan Mountains polyandry is related to the scarcity of land; the marriage of all
brothers in a family to the same wife allows family land to remain intact and undivided.[35] If
every brother married separately and had children, family land would be split into
unsustainable small plots. In Europe, this outcome was avoided through the social practice
of impartible inheritance, under which most siblings would be disinherited.[36]
Types

Fraternal polyandry was traditionally practiced among nomadic Tibetans in Nepal, parts of
China and part of northern India, in which two or more brothers would marry the same
woman. It is most common in societies marked by high male mortality. It is associated with
partible paternity, the cultural belief that a child can have more than one father.[37]

Non-fraternal polyandry occurs when the wives' husbands are unrelated, as among the Nayar
tribe of India, where girls undergo a ritual marriage before puberty,[38] and the first husband is
acknowledged as the father of all her children. However, the woman may never cohabit with
that man, taking multiple lovers instead; these men must acknowledge the paternity of their
children (and hence demonstrate that no caste prohibitions have been breached) by paying
the midwife. The women remain in their maternal home, living with their brothers, and
property is passed matrilineally.[39] A similar form of matrilineal, de facto polyandry can be
found in the institution of walking marriage among the Mosuo tribe of China.

Serial monogamy

Serial monogamy refers to remarriage after divorce or death of a spouse from a

monogamous marriage, i.e. multiple marriages but only one legal spouse at a time (a series
of monogamous relationships).[40]

According to Danish scholar Miriam K. Zeitzen, anthropologists treat serial monogamy, in

which divorce and remarriage occur, as a form of polygamy as it also can establish a series
of households that may continue to be tied by shared paternity and shared income.[27] As
such, they are similar to the household formations created through divorce and serial
monogamy.[41]

Serial monogamy creates a new kind of relative, the "ex-".[42] The "ex-wife", for example, can
remain an active part of her "ex-husband's" life, as they may be tied together by legally or
informally mandated economic support, which can last for years, including by alimony, child
support, and joint custody. Bob Simpson, the British social anthropologist, notes that it
creates an "extended family" by tying together a number of households, including mobile
children. He says that Britons may have ex‑wives or ex‑brothers‑in‑law, but not an ex‑child.
According to him, these "unclear families" do not fit the mold of the monogamous nuclear
family.[43]

Group marriage
Group marriage is a non-monogamous marriage-like arrangement where three or more adults
live together, all considering themselves partners, sharing finances, children, and household
responsibilities. Polyamory is on a continuum of family-bonds that includes group
marriage.[44] The term does not refer to bigamy as no claim to being married in formal legal
terms is made.[45]

Religious attitudes towards polygamy

Buddhism

Buddhism does not regard marriage as a sacrament; it is purely a secular affair, and normally
Buddhist monks do not participate in it (though in some sects priests and monks do marry).
Hence marriage receives no religious sanction.[46] Forms of marriage, in consequence, vary
from country to country. The Parabhava Sutta states that "a man who is not satisfied with one
woman and seeks out other women is on the path to decline". Other fragments in the
Buddhist scripture seem to treat polygamy unfavorably, leading some authors to conclude
that Buddhism generally does not approve of it[47] or alternatively regards it as a tolerated, but
subordinate, marital model.[48]

Polygamy in Thailand was legally recognized until 1935. Polygamy in Myanmar was outlawed
in 2015. In Sri Lanka, polyandry was legal in the kingdom of Kandy, but outlawed by British
after conquering the kingdom in 1815.[46] When the Buddhist texts were translated into
Chinese, the concubines of others were added to the list of inappropriate partners. Polyandry
in Tibet was traditionally common, as was polygyny, and having several wives or husbands
was never regarded as having sex with inappropriate partners.[49] Most typically, fraternal
polyandry is practiced, but sometimes father and son have a common wife, which is a unique
family structure in the world. Other forms of marriage are also present, like group marriage
and monogamous marriage.[27] Polyandry (especially fraternal polyandry) is also common
among Buddhists in Bhutan, Ladakh, and other parts of the Indian subcontinent.

Celtic traditions

Some pre-Christian Celtic pagans were known to practice polygamy, although the Celtic
peoples wavered between it, monogamy and polyandry depending on the time period and the
area.[50] In some areas this continued even after Christianization began, for instance the
Brehon Laws of Gaelic Ireland explicitly allowed for polygamy,[51][52] especially amongst the
noble class.[53] Some modern Celtic pagan religions accept the practice of polygamy to
varying degrees,[54] though how widespread the practice is within these religions is unknown.
Christianity

Although the Old Testament describes numerous examples of polygamy among devotees to
God, most Christian groups have rejected the practice of polygamy and have upheld
monogamy alone as normative. Nevertheless, some Christians groups in different periods
have practiced, or currently do practice, polygamy.[55][56] Some Christians actively debate
whether the New Testament or Christian ethics allows or forbids polygamy.

Although the New Testament is largely silent on the subject of polygamy, some point to
Jesus's repetition of the earlier scriptures, noting that a man and a wife "shall become one
flesh".[57] However, some look to Paul's writings to the Corinthians: "Do you not know that he
who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, 'The two will
become one flesh.' " Supporters of polygamy claim that this verse indicates that the term
refers to a physical, rather than a spiritual, union.[58]

Some Christian theologians[59] argue that in Matthew 19:3-9 and referring to Genesis 2:24,[60]
Jesus explicitly states a man should have only one wife:

Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made
them male and female, And said, F or this cause shall a man leave
father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain
shall be one flesh?

[61]

1 Timothy 3:2 states:

Now a bishop must be above reproach, married only once,

[62]
temperate, sensible, respectab le, hospitable, an apt teacher,

See verse 12 regarding deacons having only one wife. Similar counsel is repeated in the first
chapter of the Epistle to Titus.[63]

Periodically, Christian reform movements that have sought to rebuild Christian doctrine
based on the Bible alone (sola scriptura) have temporarily accepted polygyny as a Biblical
practice. For example, during the Protestant Reformation, in a document which was simply
referred to as "Der Beichtrat" (or "The Confessional Advice" ),[64] Martin Luther granted the
Landgrave Philip of Hesse, who, for many years, had been living "constantly in a state of
adultery and fornication",[65] a dispensation to take a second wife. The double marriage was
to be done in secret, however, to avoid public scandal.[66] Some fifteen years earlier, in a letter
to the Saxon Chancellor Gregor Brück, Luther stated that he could not "forbid a person to
marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture." ("Ego sane fateor, me non posse
prohibere, si quis plures velit uxores ducere, nec repugnat sacris literis.")[67]

In Sub-Saharan Africa, tensions have frequently erupted between advocates of the Christian
insistence on monogamy and advocates of the traditional practice of polygamy. For instance,
Mswati III, the Christian king of Swaziland, has 15 wives. In some instances in recent times,
there have been moves for accommodation; in other instances, churches have strongly
resisted such moves. African Independent Churches have sometimes referred to those parts
of the Old Testament that describe polygamy in defense of the practice.

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church condemns polygamy; the Catechism of the Catholic Church lists
it in paragraph 2387 under the head "Other offenses against the dignity of marriage" and
states that it "is not in accord with the moral law." Also in paragraph 1645 under the head
"The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love" states "The unity of marriage, distinctly
recognized by our Lord, is made clear in the equal personal dignity which must be accorded
to husband and wife in mutual and unreserved affection. Polygamy is contrary to conjugal
love which is undivided and exclusive."

Saint Augustine saw a conflict with Old Testament polygamy. He refrained from judging the
patriarchs, but did not deduce from their practice the ongoing acceptability of polygyny. On
the contrary, he argued that the polygamy of the Fathers, which was tolerated by the Creator
because of fertility, was a diversion from His original plan for human marriage. Augustine
wrote: "That the good purpose of marriage, however, is better promoted by one husband with
one wife, than by a husband with several wives, is shown plainly enough by the very first
union of a married pair, which was made by the Divine Being Himself."[68]

Augustine taught that the reason patriarchs had many wives was not because of fornication,
but because they wanted more children. He supported his premise by showing that their
marriages, in which husband was the head, were arranged according to the rules of good
management: those who are in command (quae principantur) in their society were always
singular, while subordinates (subiecta) were multiple. He gave two examples of such
relationships: dominus-servus - master-servant (in older translation: slave) and God-soul. The
Bible often equates worshiping multiple gods, i.e. idolatry to fornication.[69] Augustine relates
to that: "On this account there is no True God of souls, save One: but one soul by means of
many false gods may commit fornication, but not be made fruitful."[70]

As tribal populations grew, fertility was no longer a valid justification of polygamy: it "was
lawful among the ancient fathers: whether it be lawful now also, I would not hastily
pronounce (utrum et nunc fas sit, non temere dixerim). For there is not now necessity of
begetting children, as there then was, when, even when wives bear children, it was allowed, in
order to a more numerous posterity, to marry other wives in addition, which now is certainly
not lawful."[71]

Augustine saw marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman, which may not be
broken. It was the Creator who established monogamy: "Therefore, the first natural bond of
human society is man and wife."[72] Such marriage was confirmed by the Saviour in the
Gospel of Matthew (Mat 19:9) and by His presence at the wedding in Cana (John 2:2).[73] In
the Church—the City of God—marriage is a sacrament and may not and cannot be dissolved
as long as the spouses live: "But a marriage once for all entered upon in the City of our God,
where, even from the first union of the two, the man and the woman, marriage bears a certain
sacramental character, can in no way be dissolved but by the death of one of them."[74] In
chapter 7, Augustine pointed out that the Roman Empire forbad polygamy, even if the reason
of fertility would support it: "For it is in a man's power to put away a wife that is barren, and
marry one of whom to have children. And yet it is not allowed; and now indeed in our times,
and after the usage of Rome (nostris quidem iam temporibus ac more Romano), neither to
marry in addition, so as to have more than one wife living." Further on he notices that the
Church's attitude goes much further than the secular law regarding monogamy: It forbids
remarrying, considering such to be a form of fornication: "And yet, save in the City of our God,
in His Holy Mount, the case is not such with the wife. But, that the laws of the Gentiles are
otherwise, who is there that knows not."[75]

The Council of Trent condemns polygamy: "If any one saith, that it is lawful for Christians to
have several wives at the same time, and that this is not prohibited by any divine law; let him
be anathema.."[76]

In modern times a minority of Roman Catholic theologians have argued that polygamy,
though not ideal, can be a legitimate form of Christian marriage in certain regions, in
particular Africa.[77][78] The Roman Catholic Church teaches in its Catechism that

polygamy is not in accord with the mor al law. [Conjugal] com munion
is radically contr adicted by polygamy; this, in fact, directly negates
the plan of God that was revealed from the beginning, because it is
contrary to the equal personal dignity of men and women who in
matrimony give themselves w ith a love that is total and therefore
unique and exclusive. [79]

The illegality of polygamy in certain areas creates, according to certain Bible passages,
additional arguments against it. Paul the Apostle writes "submit to the authorities, not only
because of possible punishment but also because of conscience" (Romans 13:5), for "the
authorities that exist have been established by God." (Romans 13:1) St Peter concurs when
he says to "submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men:
whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish
those who do wrong and to commend those who do right." (1 Peter 2:13,14) Pro-polygamists
argue that, as long as polygamists currently do not obtain legal marriage licenses nor seek
"common law marriage status" for additional spouses, no enforced laws are being broken any
more than when monogamous couples similarly co-habitate without a marriage license.[80]

Lutheran Church

The Lutheran World Federation hosted a regional conference in Africa, in which the
acceptance of polygamists into full membership by the Lutheran Church in Liberia was
defended as being permissible.[81] The Lutheran Church in Liberia, however, does not permit
polygamists who have become Christians to marry more wives after they have received the
sacrament of Holy Baptism.[82] Evangelical Lutheran missionaries in Maasai also tolerate the
practice of polygamy and in Southern Sudan, some polygamists are becoming Lutheran
Christians.[83]

Anglican Communion

The 1988 Lambeth Conference of the Anglican Communion ruled that polygamy was
permissible in certain circumstances:[84]

The Conference upholds monogamy as God's plan, as the idea of

relationship of love between husband and wife; nevertheless
recommends that a polygamist who responds to the Gospel and
wishes to join the Anglican Church ma y be baptized and confirmed
with his believing wives and children on the following conditions:

that the polygamist shall promise not to marry again as long as

any of his wives at the time of his conversion are alive;

that the receiving of such a polygamist has the consent of the

local Anglican community;

that such a polygamist shall not be compelled to put awa y any of

his wives on account of the social deprivation they would
suffer. [84]

Latter Day Saint movement

In accordance with what Joseph Smith indicated was a revelation, the practice of plural
marriage, the marriage of one man to two or more women, was instituted among members of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early 1840s.[85] Despite Smith's
revelation, the 1835 edition of the 101st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, written after
the doctrine of plural marriage began to be practiced, publicly condemned polygamy. This
scripture was used by John Taylor in 1850 to quash Mormon polygamy rumors in Liverpool,
England.[86] Polygamy was made illegal in the state of Illinois[87] during the 1839–44 Nauvoo
era when several top Mormon leaders, including Smith,[88][89] Brigham Young and Heber C.
Kimball took multiple wives. Mormon elders who publicly taught that all men were
commanded to enter plural marriage were subject to harsh discipline.[90] On 7 June 1844 the
Nauvoo Expositor criticized Smith for plural marriage.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)

After Joseph Smith was killed by a mob on 27 June 1844, the main body of Latter Day Saints
left Nauvoo and followed Brigham Young to Utah where the practice of plural marriage
continued.[91] In 1852, Brigham Young, the second president of the LDS Church, publicly
acknowledged the practice of plural marriage through a sermon he gave. Additional sermons
by top Mormon leaders on the virtues of polygamy followed.[92]: 128 Controversy followed
when polygamy became a social cause, writers began to publish works condemning
polygamy. The key plank of the Republican Party's 1856 platform was "to prohibit in the
territories those twin relics of barbarism, polygamy and slavery".[93] In 1862, Congress issued
the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act which clarified that the practice of polygamy was illegal in all US
territories. The LDS Church believed that their religiously based practice of plural marriage
was protected by the United States Constitution,[94] however, the unanimous 1878 Supreme
Court decision Reynolds v. United States declared that polygamy was not protected by the
Constitution, based on the longstanding legal principle that "laws are made for the
government of actions, and while they cannot interfere with mere religious belief and
opinions, they may with practices."[95]

Increasingly harsh anti-polygamy legislation in the US led some Mormons to emigrate to

Canada and Mexico. In 1890, LDS Church president Wilford Woodruff issued a public
declaration (the Manifesto) announcing that the LDS Church had discontinued new plural
marriages. Anti-Mormon sentiment waned, as did opposition to statehood for Utah. The
Smoot Hearings in 1904, which documented that the LDS Church was still practicing
polygamy spurred the LDS Church to issue a Second Manifesto again claiming that it had
ceased performing new plural marriages. By 1910 the LDS Church excommunicated those
who entered into, or performed, new plural marriages. Even so, many plural husbands and
wives continued to cohabit until their deaths in the 1940s and 1950s.[96]
Enforcement of the 1890 Manifesto caused various splinter groups to leave the LDS Church
in order to continue the practice of plural marriage.[97] Polygamy among these groups
persists today in Utah and neighboring states as well as in the spin-off colonies. Polygamist
churches of Mormon origin are often referred to as "Mormon fundamentalist" churches even
though they are not parts of the LDS Church. Such fundamentalists often use a purported
1886 revelation to John Taylor as the basis for their authority to continue the practice of
plural marriage.[98] The Salt Lake Tribune stated in 2005 that there were as many as 37,000
fundamentalists with less than half of them living in polygamous households.[99]

On 13 December 2013, US Federal Judge Clark Waddoups ruled in Brown v. Buhman that the
portions of Utah's anti-polygamy laws which prohibit multiple cohabitation were
unconstitutional, but also allowed Utah to maintain its ban on multiple marriage
licenses.[100][101][102][103] Unlawful cohabitation, where prosecutors did not need to prove that
a marriage ceremony had taken place (only that a couple had lived together), had been the
primary tool used to prosecute polygamy in Utah since the 1882 Edmunds Act.[96]

Mormon fundamentalism

The Council of Friends (also known as the Woolley Group and the Priesthood Council)[104][105]
was one of the original expressions of Mormon fundamentalism, having its origins in the
teachings of Lorin C. Woolley, a dairy farmer excommunicated from the LDS Church in 1924.
Several Mormon fundamentalist groups claim lineage through the Council of Friends,
including but not limited to, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
(FLDS Church), the Apostolic United Brethren, the Centennial Park group, the Latter Day
Church of Christ, and the Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.

Community of Christ

The Community of Christ, known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints (RLDS Church) prior to 2001, has never sanctioned polygamy since its foundation in
1860. Joseph Smith III, the first Prophet-President of the RLDS Church following the
reorganization of the Church, was an ardent opponent of the practice of plural marriage
throughout his life. For most of his career, Smith denied that his father had been involved in
the practice and insisted that it had originated with Brigham Young. Smith served many
missions to the western United States, where he met with and interviewed associates and
women claiming to be widows of his father, who attempted to present him with evidence to
the contrary. Smith typically responded to such accusations by saying that he was "not
positive nor sure that [his father] was innocent",[106] and that if, indeed, the elder Smith had
been involved, it was still a false practice. However, many members of the Community of
Christ and some of the groups that were previously associated with it are not convinced that
Joseph Smith practiced plural marriage and they believe that the evidence which indicates
that he practiced it is flawed.[107][108]

Hinduism

The Rig Veda mentions that during the Vedic period, a man could have more than one
wife.[109] The practice is attested in epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. The
Dharmashastras permit a man to marry women provided that the first wife agree to marry
him. Despite its existence, it was most usually practiced by men of higher status. Common
people were only allowed a second marriage if the first wife could not bear a son or have
some dispute because there is no law for divorce in Hinduism.[110]

According to Vishnu Smriti, the number of wives is linked to the knowledge system:

Now a Brāhmaṇa may take many wives in the d irect order of the
(four) knowledge;
A Kshatriya means warrior knowledge, three;
A Vaishya means business knowledge, two;
[111]
A Shudra means cleaning knowledge, one only

This linkage of the number of permitted wives to the knowledge system is also supported by
Baudhayana Dharmasutra and Paraskara Grihyasutra.[112][113]

The Apastamba Dharmasutra and Manusmriti allow a second wife if the first one is unable to
discharge her religious duties or is unable to bear a child or have any dispute because in
Hinduism there was no law for divorce.[112]

For a Brahmana, only one wife could rank as the chief consort who performed the religious
rites (dharma-patni) along with the husband. The chief consort had to be of an equal
knowledge. If a man married several women from the same knowledgeable, then eldest wife
is the chief consort.[114] Hindu kings commonly had more than one wife and are regularly
attributed four wives by the scriptures. They were: Mahisi who was the chief consort, Parivrkti
who had no son, Vaivata who is considered the favorite wife and the Palagali who was the
daughter of the last of the court officials.[109]

Traditional Hindu law allowed polygamy if the first wife could not bear a child.[115]

The Hindu Marriage Act was enacted in 1955 by the Indian Parliament and made polygamy
illegal for everyone in India except for Muslims. Prior to 1955, polygamy was permitted for
Hindus. Marriage laws in India are dependent upon the religion of the parties in question.[116]
Islam

In Islamic marital jurisprudence, under reasonable and warranted conditions, a Muslim man
may have more than one wife at the same time, up to a total of four. Muslim women are not
permitted to have more than one husband at the same time under any circumstances.

Based on verse 30:21 of Quran the ideal relationship is the comfort that a couple find in each
other's embrace:

And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from
among yourselves, that ye ma y dwell in tranquillity with them, and
He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are
Signs for those who reflect.

— Quran, Sura 30 (Ar-Rum), Ayah 21 [117]

The polygyny that is allowed in the Quran is for special situations. There are strict
requirements to marrying more than one woman, as the man must treat them fairly
financially and in terms of support given to each wife, according to Islamic law. However,
Islam advises monogamy for a man if he fears he cannot deal justly with his wives. This is
based on verse 4:3 of Quran which says:

If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans,
Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear
that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one,
or one that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to
prevent you from doing injustice.

— Quran, Sura 4 (An-Nisa), Ayah 3 [118]

Muslim women are not allowed to marry more than one husband at once. However, in the
case of a divorce or their husbands' death they can remarry after the completion of Iddah, as
divorce is legal in Islamic law. A non-Muslim woman who flees from her non-Muslim husband
and accepts Islam has the option to remarry without divorce from her previous husband, as
her marriage with non-Muslim husband is Islamically dissolved on her fleeing.[119] A non-
Muslim woman captured during war by Muslims, can also remarry, as her marriage with her
non-Muslim husband is Islamically dissolved at capture by Muslim soldiers.[120][121] This
permission is given to such women in verse 4:24 of Quran. The verse also emphasizes on
transparency, mutual agreement and financial compensation as prerequisites for matrimonial
relationship as opposed to prostitution; it says:
 Also (prohibited are) women already married, except those whom
your right hands possess: Thus hath Allah ordained (Prohibitions)
against you: Except for these, all others are lawful, provided ye
seek (them in marriage) with gifts from your property ,- desiring
chastity, not lust, seeing that y e derive benefit from them, give
them their dowers (at least) as prescribed; but if, after a dower is
prescribed, agree Mutually (to vary it), there is no blame on you,
and Allah is All-knowing, All-wise.

— Quran, Sura 4 (An-Nisa), Ayah 24 [122]

Muhammad was monogamously married to Khadija, his first wife, for 25 years, until she died.
After her death, he married multiple women. Muhammad had a total of 9 wives at the same
time, even though Muslim men were limited to 4 wives. His total wives are 11.

One reason cited for polygyny is that it allows a man to give financial protection to multiple
women, who might otherwise not have any support (e.g. widows).[123] However, some Islamic
scholars say the wife can set a condition, in the marriage contract, that the husband cannot
marry another woman during their marriage. In such a case, the husband cannot marry
another woman as long as he is married to his wife. However, other Islamic scholars state
that this condition is not allowed.[124] According to traditional Islamic law, each of those
wives keeps their property and assets separate; and are paid mahar separately by their
husband. Usually the wives have little to no contact with each other and lead separate,
individual lives in their own houses, and sometimes in different cities, though they all share
the same husband.

In most Muslim-majority countries, polygyny is legal with Kuwait being the only one where no
restrictions are imposed on it. The practice is illegal in Muslim-majority Turkey, Tunisia,
Albania, Kosovo and Central Asian countries.[125][126][127][128]

Countries that allow polygyny typically also require a man to obtain permission from his
previous wives before marrying another, and require the man to prove that he can financially
support multiple wives. In Malaysia and Morocco, a man must justify taking an additional
wife at a court hearing before he is allowed to do so.[129] In Sudan, the government
encouraged polygyny in 2001 to increase the population.[130]

Judaism

The Torah contains a few specific regulations that apply to polygamy,[131] such as Exodus
21:10: "If he take another wife for himself; her food, her clothing, and her duty of marriage,
shall he not diminish".[132] Deut 21:15–17 (https://www.biblica.com/bible/?osis=niv:Deuteron
omy%2021:15%E2%80%9317) , states that a man must award the inheritance due to a first-
born son to the son who was actually born first, even if he hates that son's mother and likes
another wife more;[133] and Deut 17:17 (https://www.biblica.com/bible/?osis=niv:Deuteronom
y%2017:17) states that the king shall not have too many wives.[134] Despite its prevalence in
the Hebrew Bible, some scholars do not believe that polygyny was commonly practiced in the
biblical era because it required a significant amount of wealth.[135] Michael Coogan (and
others), in contrast, states that "Polygyny continued to be practiced well into the biblical
period, and it is attested among Jews as late as the second century CE".[136][137][138]

The Dead Sea Scrolls show that several smaller Jewish sects forbade polygamy before and
during the time of Jesus.[139][140][141] The Temple Scroll (11QT LVII 17–18) seems to prohibit
polygamy.[140][142] The rabbinical era that began with the destruction of the second temple in
Jerusalem in 70 CE saw a continuation of some degree of legal acceptance for polygamy. In
the Babylonian Talmud (BT), Kiddushin 7a, its states, "Raba said: [If a man declares,] 'Be thou
betrothed to half of me,' she is betrothed: 'half of thee be betrothed to me,' she is not
betrothed."[143] The BT during a discussion of Levirate marriage in Yevamot 65a appears to
repeat the precedent found in Exodus 21:10: "Raba said: a man may marry wives in addition
to the first wife; provided only that he possesses the means to maintain them".[144] The
Jewish Codices began a process of restricting polygamy in Judaism.

Most notable in the rabbinic period on the issue of polygamy, though more specifically for
Ashkenazi Jews, was the synod of Rabbeinu Gershom. About 1000 CE he called a synod
which decided the following particulars: (1) prohibition of polygamy; (2) necessity of
obtaining the consent of both parties to a divorce; (3) modification of the rules concerning
those who became apostates under compulsion; (4) prohibition against opening
correspondence addressed to another.[145][146][138] Some Sephardic Jews such as Abraham
David Taroç, were known to have several wives.

Polygamy was common among Jewish communities in the Levant, possibly due to the
influence of Muslim society, with 17% of divorce claims by women being due to complaints
over husbands taking additional wives. According to R. Joseph Karo (16th century author of
the last great codification of Jewish law, the Shulchan Aruch), and many other rabbis from
Safed, the ban of Rabbeinu Gershom had expired, and therefore even Ashkenazim could
marry additional wives. Even in instances where the husband made prenuptial agreements
not to marry additional wives, local rabbis found loopholes to allow them to do so
anyway.[147][148]

In the modern day, polygamy is generally not condoned by Jews.[149][150] Ashkenazi Jews
have continued to follow Rabbenu Gershom's ban since the 11th century.[151] Some Mizrahi
Jewish communities (particularly Yemenite Jews and Persian Jews) discontinued polygyny
more recently, after they immigrated to countries where it was forbidden or illegal. Israel
prohibits polygamy by law.[152][153] In practice, however, the law is loosely enforced, primarily
to avoid interference with Bedouin culture, where polygyny is practiced.[154] Pre-existing
polygynous unions among Jews from Arab countries (or other countries where the practice
was not prohibited by their tradition and was not illegal) are not subject to this Israeli law. But
Mizrahi Jews are not permitted to enter into new polygamous marriages in Israel. However
polygamy may still occur in non-European Jewish communities that exist in countries where
it is not forbidden, such as Jewish communities in Iran and Morocco.

Israel has made polygamy illegal.[155][156] Provisions were instituted to allow for existing
polygamous families immigrating from countries where the practice was legal. Furthermore,
former chief rabbi Ovadia Yosef has come out in favor of legalizing polygamy and the
practice of pilegesh (concubine) by the Israeli government.[157]

Tzvi Zohar, a professor from the Bar-Ilan University, recently suggested that based on the
opinions of leading halachic authorities, the concept of concubines may serve as a practical
halachic justification for premarital or non-marital cohabitation.[158][159]

Zoroastrianism

There is limited information about polygamy in Zoroastrian tradition. There is no passage in

the Avesta that favors polygamy or monogamy.[160] However, tradition holds that Zoroaster
had three wives.[161][162] Polygamy appears to have been a right of spiritual dignitaries and
aristocrats.[163] It is mentioned in foreign writings, such as the letter of Tansar.[164]

For those who were the most virtuous and pious, he chose o ut
princesses, that all might desire virtue and chastity . He was content
with one or two wives for himself, and disapproved of having
many children, sa ying: to have man y children is fitting for the
populace, but kings and nobles tak e pride in the smallness of their
families

— Tansar

It was also written about in the 4th century CE by the Roman soldier and historian Ammianus
Marcellinus, writing about Zoroastrian communities.[165]

Each man according to his means contr acts many or few

marriages, whence their affection, divided as it is among various
 objects, grows cold.

— Ammianus Marcellinus

Legal status

Polygamy is legal only for Muslims

Polygamy is legal
Polygamy is legal in some regions (Indonesia)
Polygamy is illegal, but practice is not criminalised
Polygamy is illegal and practice criminalised
Legal status unknown
In India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Singapore, polygamy is only legal for Muslims.

In Nigeria and South Africa, polygamous marriages under customary law and for Muslims are legally recognized.

In Mauritius, polygamous unions have no legal recognition. Muslim men may, however, "marry" up to four women, but they
do not have the legal status of wives.

International law

In 2000, the United Nations Human Rights Committee reported that polygamy violates the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), citing concerns that the lack of
"equality of treatment with regard to the right to marry" meant that polygamy, restricted to
polygyny in practice, violates the dignity of women and should be outlawed.[166] Specifically,
reports to UN Committees have noted violations of ICCPR due to these inequalities[167] and
reports to the UN General Assembly have recommended it be outlawed.[168][169]

ICCPR does not apply to countries that have not signed it, which includes many Muslim
countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia, Brunei, Oman, and
South Sudan.[170]
Canada

Canada has taken a strong stand against polygamy, and the Canadian Department of Justice
has argued that polygyny is a violation of International Human Rights Law, as a form of
gender discrimination.[171] In Canada, the federal Criminal Code applies throughout the
country. It extends the definition of polygamy to having any kind of conjugal union with more
than one person at the same time. Also anyone who assists, celebrates, or is a part to a rite,
ceremony, or contract that sanctions a polygamist relationship is guilty of polygamy.
Polygamy is an offence punishable by up to five years in prison. In 2017, two Canadian
religious leaders were found guilty of practicing polygamy by the Supreme Court of British
Columbia.[172] Both of them are former bishops of the Mormon denomination of the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS).[172]

Russia

Polygamous marriages are not recognized in the Russian Federation. The Family Code of
Russia states that a marriage can only be contracted between a man and a woman, neither of
whom is married to someone else.[173] Furthermore, Russia does not recognize polygamous
marriages that had been contracted in other countries.[174] However, under Russian law, de
facto polygamy or multiple cohabitation in and of itself is not a crime.[175]

Due to the imbalance between urban educated women and men in predominantly Mongols-
inhabited regions of Russia men sometimes may have multiple women as wives one report
claims.[176] This sometimes results in households that are openly de facto polygamous.

United Kingdom

Bigamy is illegal in the United Kingdom.[177] De facto polygamy (having multiple partners at
the same time) is not a criminal offence, provided the person does not register more than
one marriage at the same time. In the UK, adultery is not a criminal offence (it is only a
ground for divorce[178]). In a written answer to the House of Commons, "In Great Britain,
polygamy is only recognized as valid in law in circumstances where the marriage ceremony
has been performed in a country whose laws permit polygamy and the parties to the
marriage were domiciled there at the time. In addition, immigration rules have generally
prevented the formation of polygamous households in this country since 1988."[179]

The 2010 Government in the UK decided that Universal Credit (UC), which replaces means-
tested benefits and tax credits for working-age people and will not be completely introduced
until 2021, will not recognize polygamous marriages. A House of Commons Briefing Paper
states "Treating second and subsequent partners in polygamous relationships as separate
claimants could in some situations mean that polygamous households receive more under
Universal Credit than they do under the current rules for means-tested benefits and tax
credits. This is because, as explained above, the amounts which may be paid in respect of
additional spouses are lower than those which generally apply to single claimants." There is
currently no official statistics data on cohabiting polygamous couples who have arranged
marriage in religious ceremonies.[180]

United States

Polygamy in Utah remains a controversial issue that has been subject to legislative battles throughout the years; it is
currently an infraction; and recognition of polygamy is illegal under the Constitution of Utah.

Polygamy is illegal in all 50 United States.

Polygamy in Utah remains a controversial issue that has been subject to legislative battles
throughout the years. Utah is the only state where it is an infraction rather than a crime as of
2020; nevertheless recognizing polygamous unions is illegal under the Constitution of
Utah.[181] Federal legislation to outlaw the practice was endorsed as constitutional in 1878 by
the Supreme Court in Reynolds v. United States, despite the religious objections of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). This Church subsequently ended the practice
of polygamy around the turn of the twentieth century;[182] however, several smaller
fundamentalist Mormon groups across the state (not associated with the mainstream
Church) continue the practice.

On 13 December 2013, a federal judge, spurred by the American Civil Liberties Union and
other groups,[183] struck down the parts of Utah's bigamy law that criminalized cohabitation,
while also acknowledging that the state may still enforce bans on having multiple marriage
licenses.[184] This decision was overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the
Tenth Circuit, thus effectively recriminalizing polygamy as a felony.[185] In 2020, Utah voted to
downgrade polygamy from a felony to an infraction, but it remains a felony if force, threats or
other abuses are involved.[186]
Prosecutors in Utah have long had a policy of not pursuing polygamy in the absence of other
associated crimes (e.g. fraud, abuse, marriage of underage persons, etc.).[187][188] There are
about 30,000 people living in polygamous communities in Utah.[189]

Individualist feminism and advocates such as Wendy McElroy and journalist Jillian Keenan
support the freedom for adults to voluntarily enter polygamous marriages.[190][191]

Authors such as Alyssa Rower and Samantha Slark argue that there is a case for legalizing
polygamy on the basis of regulation and monitoring of the practice, legally protecting the
polygamous partners and allowing them to join mainstream society instead of forcing them
to hide from it when any public situation arises.[192][193]

In an October 2004 op-ed for USA Today, George Washington University law professor
Jonathan Turley argued that, as a simple matter of equal treatment under the law, polygamy
ought to be legal. Acknowledging that underage girls are sometimes coerced into
polygamous marriages, Turley replied that "banning polygamy is no more a solution to child
abuse than banning marriage would be a solution to spousal abuse".[194]

Stanley Kurtz, a conservative fellow at the Hudson Institute, rejects the decriminalization and
legalization of polygamy. He stated:

Marriage, as its ultr amodern c ritics would lik e to say, is indeed

about choosing one's partner, and about freedom in a society that
values freedom. But that's not the only thing it is about. As the
Supreme Court justices who unanimously decided Reynolds in
1878 understood, marriage is also about sustaining the conditions
in which freedom can thrive. Polygamy in all its forms is a recipe
for social structures that inhibit and ultimately undermine social
freedom and democr acy. A hard-won lesson of W estern histo ry is
that genuine democr atic self-r ule begins at the hearth of the
monogamous family .[195]

In January 2015, Pastor Neil Patrick Carrick of Detroit, Michigan, brought a case (Carrick v.
Snyder) against the State of Michigan that the state's ban of polygamy violates the Free
Exercise and Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.[196][197] The case was
dismissed with prejudice on February 10, 2016, for lack of standing.[198]

Post-war Germany plans

In Nazi Germany, there was an effort by Martin Bormann and Heinrich Himmler to introduce
new legislation concerning plural marriage.[199] The argument ran that after the war, 3 to 4
million women would have to remain unmarried due to the great number of soldiers fallen in
battle. In order to make it possible for these women to have children, a procedure for
application and selection for suitable men (i.e. decorated war heroes) to enter a marital
relationship with an additional woman was planned.[199] The privileged position of the first
wife was to be secured by awarding her the title Domina.[199]

The greatest fighter deserves the most beautiful woman ... If the
German man is to be unreservedly ready to die as a soldier, he
must have the freedom to love unreservedly . For struggle an d love
belong together. The philistine should be glad if he gets whatever is
left

— Adolf Hitler [199]

See also

Bigamy More danico

Conflict of marriage laws Polyday

Legal status of polygamy Serial monogamy

List of polygamy court cases Types of marriages

Notes

1. For the extent to which states can and do e

r cognize potentially and actual polygamous forms as valid,
see Conflict of marriage laws.

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