Polygamy in America Today

Polygamy is a common, well-buried secret that is often hard to leave and still exists

throughout the country today. The Encyclopedia Americana defines polygamy as the form

of marriage that permits a person to have more than one husband or wife (Encyclopedia

Americana). It has been known to exist at various times in certain societies.

Polygamy is more common that most people realize. In the Paper “Polygamy and

Same Sex Marriage,” David Chambers states “that in the history of the country, by far the

most significant and widespread practice of polygamy occurred among the Mormons

during the later half of the 19th century.” the Mormons believe that plural marriage is

biblical and approved of by God. In the New Testament, it was never deemed to be

immoral or even inferior in any way to monogamous onions.

More Americans are practicing polygamy than one might think. Even more

interesting, more than half of nonindustrialized societies still permits it. For both married

men and women, sexual relationships outside of the marriage are regarded as deeply sinful.

Polygamy is a way around this. It is not a sin to sleep with your wife. It is understood

that any Christian should not have more than one marriage registered with the state. Such

actions would surely violate tax codes and many other legal situations. Many do believe,

however, that all United States laws, which make registered plural marriage illegal, are

unconstitutional and should be repealed.

Carmen Thompson, former polygamist and author of “Memories of a Plural wife,”

wrote “that because plural marriage is against the law, those that still embrace it have, for

decades, kept their practice well hidden.” According to Andrew Murr in his article,

“Secrets in the desert,” “Utah banned polygamy as a precondition of statehood in 1890,

but the practice of taking multiple wives has never disappeared (1).” Thompson wrote

that there is an estimated 30,000 polygamists living in the states of Utah, and an equal

number scattered around the rest of the United states (118). With so many involved in

this lucid crime it is only a matter of time before those who are trying to stay hidden are