Polygamy Essay

One of the most controversial type of marriage to modern day society is polygamy. Polygamy is the practice of simultaneously having multiple spouses. Polygamy is often depicted in this nature due to the fact it contrasts with the socially acceptable conventional marriage. This view however, is not shared amongst cultures who practice it through the justification of religion or ideals all around the world. Polygamy can be subdivided into two categories: polygyny and polyandry. Polygyny is when a man has two or more wives at the same time or in another perspective when a man is married to a single woman however supports one or more mistresses. This subsection of polygamy is the more common of the two when it comes to the Islamic religion.

Similar to monogamous relationships, this is not always the case. There have been numerous reports against men who have domestically abused their wives, which resulted from a lack of authority in charge of these cases. This has become a big problem in these areas. Some women have gone as far as denouncing the practice because in reality they have no say and can not do anything about it. These women claim that men who take in multiple wives do so for the sake of their ego and not as a result of following their

For example, here in the United States, although all religions are protected under the first amendment, polygamy is heavily outlawed because this country is dominated by branches of the Christian and Roman Catholic faiths and their monogamous ideals clash with those of other religions. For instance, in the mid 19th century, the U.S allowed polygamy in the early years of the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Not long after the practice began to spread, Catholics and Christians were outraged to the point where the Federal government had to step in and declare Polygamy unlawful. This was done through the enforcement of the Edmunds-Tucker Act under which it “disfranchised all the women of Utah and polygamous men, it froze all the Church’s assets and it declared all children of plural marriages to be illegitimate in the eyes of the government” (“Marriage and Redemption Mormon Polygamy In The Congressional Imagination, 1862-1887”). This act ensured that polygamy would not pose a threat of sectionalism in our