Witte writes that the common law has always defined marriage between a man and a woman, and that religious freedom should not allow anyone to break laws. He states “monogamous marriage ‘is the cornerstone of civilization’, and it cannot be moved without upending our whole culture” (73). He believes that allowing plural marriage would cause a lot of chaos and completely destroy our nation’s current culture.
Witte discusses a Fundamental Latter Day Saint group in Texas that was raided. Underage and coerced marriages, statutory rape and child abuse were all found within the group. Witte states, “They will have no claim of religious freedom that will excuse them and no claim of privacy that will protect them” (73). He claims that freedom of religion does not mean freedom to do whatever a person wants. He argues that criminalizing polygamy is constitutional.
He also argues that polygamy is not healthy. He states, “Public health experts raise concerns about communicable diseases among children within the extended household, and transmittable sexual diseases within the rotating marital bed”. He believes that marriage should be strictly between two people to reduce the amount of sexually transmitted diseases.
Witte discusses the problems that could come up if the man dies or one of the wives file for divorce. There are no laws on how to distribute marital property or social security benefits and other money for polygamous families. If polygamy were legalized it would be difficult to determine how many of the spouses would benefit from health care benefits.
Furthermore he says that polygamy should not be legalized because it is inherently wrong and because it will give religions too much freedom to abuse young girls. Witte argues that th...
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...es of Religious Polygamy in the USA." Ecclesiastical Law Journal January 2009: 72-75.
Ho, Andy. "Why Polygamy Should Be Allowed." Straits Times (Singapore). 03 Mar 2011: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 07 Dec 2013.
Beaman, Lori G. "Response: Who Decides? Harm, Polygamy and Limits on Freedom." Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions August 2006: 43-51.
Klein, Diane J. "Plural Marriage And Community Property Law." Golden Gate University Law Review 41.1 (2010): 33-89. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Dec. 2013.
Copeland, Libby. "Big Love, Big Lies." National Post. 02 Feb 2012: A.16. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 11 Dec 2013.
Fry, Amy. "Polygamy In America: How The Varying Legal Standards Fail To Protect Mothers And Children From Its Abuses." St. Louis University Law Journal 54.3 (2010): 967-995. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
Before the founding and organizing of the LDS church and introduction of polygamy, Joseph Smith received bitter persecution. He was tarred and feathered by a mob, but this was nothing compared to the treatment the saints received when their practice of polygamy became well known (Arrington JS 26-7). In order to escape the torture, Joseph Smith led one hundred and fifty or more saints from New York to Kirtland, Ohio in 1831 (Arrington JS 21). After living in harmony with the native Gentiles for several years, the town of Kirtland be...
“ It remains to be noted that none of the great constitutional rights of conscience, however vital to a free society is absolute in character. Thus, while the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion goes a long way, it does not serve to protect acts judged to be morally licentious, such as poly amorous marriages. Children cannot be required to execute the flag salute which is forbidden by religious belief… Similarly freedom of speech, often defended by the courts, does not extend to the seditious utteran...
The constitutional right of gay marriage is a hot topic for debate in the United States. Currently, 37 states have legal gay marriage, while 13 states have banned gay marriage. The two essays, "What’s Wrong with Gay Marriage?" by Katha Pollitt and "Gay "Marriage": Societal Suicide" by Charles Colson provide a compare and contrast view of why gay marriage should be legal or not. Pollitt argues that gay marriage is a constitutional human right and that it should be legal, while Colson believes that gay marriage is sacrilegious act that should not be legal in the United States and that “it provides a backdrop for broken families and increases crime rates” (Colson, pg535). Both authors provide examples to support their thesis. Katha Pollitt provides more relevant data to support that gay marriage is a constitutional right and should be enacted as law in our entire country, she has a true libertarian mindset.
All the way through Migdim's incident with arranged marriages, we can understand the old customs that has to do with marriage. It is obvious that, although women were believed to be obedient, they were capable to effectively convince men. Yet, today there seems to be a sign toward polygamous marriages that are eventu...
Heterosexual cohabitation is essentially one man and one woman, living together who are in a committed relationship. According to recent census data, an estimated four million unmarried heterosexual couples are living together in the United States; a number which has doubled since the 1980's.(Warner1/3) In fact, cohabitation was illegal in all fifty states prior to 1970.(Popenoe "Should") In the year 1965, only ten percent of newlywed couples had lived together before marriage; presently the statistic has risen to fifty percent.(Tolson) The reasons for the new found acceptance of cohabitation are obvious. The sexual revolution, which began in the sixties, played a major role in changing the attitudes towards premarital sex. The media has taken advantage of this revolution and has been a prominent cause in the spread of acceptance towards sexual openness. Presently, it is not unusual for young adults to be sexually active with more than one partner before their first marriage.
In view of these facts, it is clear that divorce and polygamy both belong to the category of situations that deviate from the ideal marriage. With that in mind, Christians should not be quick to judge polygamy, especially while ignoring divorce. Evidently, it takes more courage, consumes more energy, and involves more responsibility to be in a polygamous relationship than to divorce and remarry.
Cook, Joe. "What Should We Do About Divorce Law? No to Covenant Marriage." World & I. Jan. 1998: 302-317. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 04 May. 2014.
Wood, D. B. (2000, March 2). Protecting marriage or marginalizing homosexuals? The Christian Science Monitor.
In today’s world many people have had different views and ideas on what polygamy really is, is it morally wrong? In this paper you are going to learn what polygamy is, who practices it, the affects that it has on children, wives and the husbands, risk factors, and most importantly why it is morally wrong.
The Western Religious leaders and moralists believe only one spouse for life is the highest form of marriage. Some of the most "primitive" peoples are strictly monogamous in their ideals, while some "highly advanced" cultures have moved away from the stri...
Mention the concept of polygamy in any “civilized” gathering, and you just may be able to see the shiver of repulsion that ripples through the crowd. By substituting the word “polyamory” in, you will be able to circumvent this reaction – but only because everyone is staring at you in baffled silence instead. So we begin, as always, with definitions.
entered by both parties prior to marriage that defines expectations for behavior during the marriage and sets guidelines for property division in the event of the dissolution of the marriage. Legally speaking, a marriage is a private contract between two people who voluntarily agree to enter a spousal relationship with the other person. 2 Couples entering into a marriage become united in many dimensions, including social and financial. Financially, the concept of community property binds. the assets and debts of one spouse to those of the other’ s. Moreover, the future earnings of one.
Many people would happily accept an opportunity to have their daily stress reduced by employing help with not only their children but also with daily household responsibilities of cooking and cleaning. Especially in this fragile economic state the average family living in America cannot afford the luxury of hiring a house cleaner, cook or nanny. However, there are polygamists families in America have the abilities of multiple adults contributing to the same household because of the lifestyle choice of having multiple spouses. The extra help comes at a price for woman, by having to share her husband with other woman and raising her children in the difficult and uncommon lifestyle. Polygamy takes a total acceptance and understanding of it by the mothers, in order for polygamy not to have a negative psychological impact on her children. Children are the innocent victims of polygamy; consequently, they grow up witnessing a tense environment filled with their mother’s insecurities and rivalries with the other wives, which sequentially end up harming the child in the end. Furthermore, polygamy can be psychologically damaging to children because of the increased rates of not only welfare fraud, domestic violence, and underage marriages but also child abuse and neglect.
As known by most, there are those in other countries that practice this religion and it does not seem to be frowned upon at all. However, in the United States this religious practice is highly illegal, though there are those who still practice this religion. For example, there is a reality show on TLC entitled Sister Wives. This is a family, the Brown family, where the husband, Kody Brown, has four wives, Christine, Robyn, Meri and Janelle Brown. They first lived under one roof in Utah where they would not be perused after however, they had to move to after there were bigamy charges pressed on the family. For the first few seasons, “Kody Brown and his four wives have come under scrutiny from law enforcement and members of their own community for broadcasting their lives on TV… Although polygamy is illegal, officials rarely get involved due to the sheer number of cases in Utah unless there's...
In today’s society the assumption asserts that there must be only two adults integrated in a relationship, however in polygamous environments, having more than one spouse is traditional. Some may argue that Polygamy is simply just an alternate lifestyle. This, however, ceases to be true. Young girls are being forced to marry older men and sometimes relatives. Little boys are often abandoned because it appears to be competition for older men. Children are victims of sexual and physical abuse. Whereas, for women, they generally become stripped of their money and experience competition against the multiple wives a husband. Although Polygamy is viewed as immoral by society, the main focus point should be saving young children and women because