The hit TV show Sister Wives on the TLC network focuses on a family of twenty-two which consists of not one, not two, not three, but four women who serve as wives to husband Kody Brown. Polygamy has become an especially controversial topic throughout the press lately. Polygamy remains illegal in the United States, however an abundant amount of families found legal ways to practice it through religion. Although the act of polygamy remains illegal, enforcement of the crime has proved difficult as only one marriage is legal on paper, and the others are only spiritual wives, making it dificult for courts to punish.
Even though polygamy is illegal in the U.S., it is legally practiced in many areas of Africa and in certain areas of Asia through religions like Islam, Hinduism, and Mormonism. The Islamic law states that a man can take up to four wives, and Hinduism and
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Since the show has become popular and the family has become so well known, many legal issues concerns have raised dealing with the legality of the marriages and living situations. In 2011 the Brown v. Buhman case was filed with the U.S. District Court. When the TV show aired, many questions surfaced and the marriage video of Kody and Robyn’s marriage ceremony was used against them in court. The Brown family fought back, stating that the situation was legal because only one marriage was on paper and the others wives just had spiritual marriages. In June of 2012, the criminal case against the Browns was dropped. Later on, the family was allowed to continue their unusual marriage due to the fact it dealt with religion and only one wife was technically married to Kody. Although the Browns have seventeen kids, and their parents all practice polygamy, many of their children already have stated that they don’t think the polygamy life is for
Polygamy: “A marriage form in which one individual has multiple spouses at the same time; from the Greek words' poly (“ many”) and Gamos (“marriage”)”. Examples of this would the whole history of Africa like no other continent in the world. African societies have managed to see children being a structure of prosperity and a family that has more children were considered to be more powerful.
A sensitive subject, in the Islamic religion, is the status that a women holds - specifically with respect to the theme of how women are treated within polygamous relationships. Smith’s main thesis is that the Islamic religion has been accused of degrading women and he plans to share information to prove that this is a very valid fact. A polygamous relationship is a relationship or marriage with many partners. The Islam’s believe in polygamous relationships and the rules are specifically stated within the Koran. The Koran allows for a man to have up to four wives/partners, although, if he cannot equally share his love with all of his wives/partners, then he must only marry one . Smith has a very valid point, although there are many sources that support and refute his opinion. Mohammad Ali Syed discovered that the Islamic law allows for polygamy under certain circumstances, such as the treatment towards orphans. ...
Beall, L. (2005). The Impact of Modern-Day Polygamy on Women and Children. Journal of International Cultic Studies, 2 (1), 2-8.
...on is that they are a small community that is detached from the mainstream their ideals are not influencing others. Also, Lori argues, these practices of polygamy are part of their lifestyle and people that are nurtured in this environment are generally inclined towards accepting these ideals and beliefs. Hence, polygamy should be decriminalized rather than made illegal.
"We are a peculiar people," Elder Bruce R. McConkie once said (McConkie 25). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of a few "odd" Christian religions. Many of its practices have created much persecution and political reaction, polygamy being one of these. It created much social and political persecution of the Mormons.
Polygamy is the case in which a man or a woman has multiple spouses. One branch of polygamy is termed “polygyny”, which is when “one man is married to several wives” (Zeitzen 3). In polygyny, women have become incredibly subservient because they believe being the best sister wife would mean coming closer God. This means they will obey their husbands and the prophet without question. Some of these Mormon fundamentalists reside in a tucked away community know as Bountiful, British Columbia. The women in Bountiful are being subjected to the confinements and abuse induced by their religious cult. “Some of Bountiful’s men are in there forties and fifties when they marry girls as young as fourteen” (Bramham 12). This is pertinent in showing For example; women “are programmed by their prophets to look happy... [and] are taught from birth to “keep sweet”.” (Bramham 17) This critical statement defends the idea of coercing “code[s] for blind obedience” (Bramham 195).
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.
Kody Brown of Sister Wives was in for the shock of his life last week when his daughter Mariah revealed that she was gay. Kody had no idea that Mariah was going to reveal this news, but her father is actually taking the news really well. People got the chance to talk to Kody Brown, and he shared how he feels about Mariah's announcement and loving his daughter no matter what her sexual preference. Kody supports his daughter. On the preview for next week, he is seen saying that he isn't happy she is gay, but is happy she knows herself.
Polygamy is not something many Americans are accustomed to. Western culture teaches that monogamy, as opposed to polygamy, is the proper, accepted form of marriage. Western culture places that morality into it's people, often from youth.
Polyamory, like polygamy, refers to the state of conducting multiple romantic relationships at once; however, there are many distinctions between the terms. The most blatant difference is that polygamy specifies the participants are all married to each other, whereas polyamory encompasses a spectrum of relationships ranging from casual to committed. Furthermore, polygamy has its roots in religious and highly patriarchal systems, such as the Abrahamic faiths or the notorious Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Quite distinctly, the lifestyle we now know as polyamory grew out of the hippies’ free love movement in the 1960s, with considerably different values. In its modern form, it is a secular alternative lifestyle that is gradually gaining in popularity. It is estimated that there are over half a million openly polyamorous families in the United States alone.
Polygamy is defined as “a marriage that includes more than two partners.” There are different types of polygamy, these include: polygyny, where a man has multiple wives, polyandry, in which a woman has multiple husbands, and group marriage, where a family consists of multiple husbands and wives. Of these different types of polygamy, polygyny is definitely the most popular of the three. In America, the practice of any form of polygamy is illegal and due to this law, many adherents of the lifestyle stay hidden ("What is Polygamy?"). Polygamy became an issue in the United States in the year 1852 when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the LDS Church, made it so that plural marriage became a part of its religious doctrine. However, due to the storm of controversy that followed this movement, in 1890 the Mormon Church officially abandoned the practice. The Mormon’s who disagreed with the movement broke away from the Mormon Church and became known as Fundamentalist Mormons. Although the practice was almost unheard of in regions such as the Midwest, Northeast and South, in the Western portion of the United States, polygyny marriage is still prevalent. Those who are found to be practicing the belief are fined and sometimes are forced to split up with the rest of their families. For this reason many remain in the dark about their lifestyle, considering the severity of the consequences ("History of Fundamentalist Mormons"). However, recently many families have come out of hiding and proclaimed to the world that they are a practicing polygamist family, raising the question: is it right for the government to tell people who they can and cannot marry?
Polygamy is considered illegal in the United States, which would make it a deviant practice. That fact is on the bottom burner for me when considering this situation. Forcing someone to theoretically spend the rest of their life with someone not of their choosing is definitely out of the norm in my opinion. On to...
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.
Polygamy is defined as the condition or practice of having more than one spouse at a time. Though it has existed in many cultures throughout the world, polygamy is still very prevalent in most Islamic societies today. There are however several guidelines laid out in Islamic law governing the practice. Here we will examine the practice of polygamy in Islam and those laws which govern its legality.
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