Throughout the history of the world, polygamy has played an integral part of the religious practices of various societies. For example, anciently, Jews, Muslims, Christians, and other religions have practiced polygamy. Today in America many people from many different cultures and spiritual backgrounds co-exist, including some who feel that God would have them marry more than one person at a time, all guaranteed, by the Constitution, the right to believe and worship as they see fit. Considering the diverse religious climate in America, polygamy, as a religious practice, must be protected under the first amendment to the Constitution. It is common knowledge that America was founded by people who were seeking to establish a democratic government, which would allow for religious freedom. Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson and others sought to create a document that would establish laws to protect religious freedom. In America, there would be no state church; citizens were to be free to be Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish, or any other religion. Citizens could also choose to not unite themselves with any denomination. They could even be agnostic or atheist. They could attend church services, preach in the streets, pray, own and distribute sacred writings, and live how they believed God would have them live. This would be a drastic change from the history of forced religion that was happening in most of the world, where one converted or was punished in some way: fined, imprisoned, or even killed. In short, the people of the United States of America could believe what they wished and practice their religion, without the threat of the government violating those rights. However, even with these gua... ... middle of paper ... ...duals believe that God supports and condones polyamory, and are advocating this principle on a political level. Whether one agrees morally with polyamory, we must acknowledge that some Universal Unitarians see this type of multiple marriage as a religious practice, and as supporters of the first amendment, we must protect their right to practice their religion. The Christian Polygamists, Latter Day Saints, Fundamental Latter Day Saints, Muslims, and some of the Universal Unitarians all teach that polygamy was instituted by God. Regardless of one’s opinion about how marriage should be defined, it must be acknowledged that these religions passionately believe that marrying more than one person at a time is ordained by God. Because there are so many different religions thriving in America, many teaching polygamy, it is necessary to protect it as a religious practice.
"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. Most of this persecution came from anti-polygamist Christians.
When it came down to the government during the convention of May 1776, instead of protecting our rights they had passed them down causing us to be under common law. If one had denied the Christian faith and went against everything it believed in, such as, “there are more Gods than one, or denies the Christian religion to be true, or the scriptures to be of divine authority, he is punishable on the first offence by incapacity to hold any office or employment ecclesiastical, civil, or military,” (Jefferson 176). This is what most people had thought about if you did not follow their religion. Thomas Jefferson believed that the wall between church and state should be very high in order to keep out and prevent hostile situations. Using an example from today’s news, many people get uncomfortable in the United Stated with the Muslim religion because of the previous horrific events that led to many cruel deaths in our history. By this, the way that we look at these people is forever changed because of the incidents and who knows if we will ever not be hostile with one another because of it. If church and state hadn’t been separated we may have not become a true democracy from what our developing country was seeming to lead towards. More people would not be as accepting of each other, and not that they are still not today, but I feel as if it may
Many Americans believe that America was founded on the ideals of complete religions separation and tolerance for all. While this is a lovely story, history shows that many people actually came to America to find a place where they could establish a community of like-minded religious thinkers and then begin to spread their theology across the new land. Although early America was generally religiously intolerant, the Enlightenment gave birth to the idea that the thoughts of the individual are powerful. This idea has grown to be the driving force of the American ideal and influenced a rising presence of religious liberalism and tolerance.
religious persecution from the rest of America, as they were unable to. lead normal lives in Central America. What is the non-Mormons attitude towards Polygamy? Polygamy (in a large proportion of American’s opinions) was seen to be. wrong in the eyes of God.
America today still maintains the separation of church and state, an idea that was founded by some of the earliest colonists.... ... middle of paper ... ... William Penn, Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania, soon after wrote the Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges and Liberties, a constitution for the colony of Pennsylvania, which enabled the people to freely practice their religion of choice without fear of government punishment. American colonies were clearly established with the intent to all live together with Christian beliefs, but with so many interpretations and versions of the same religious scripture, freedom to practice whichever adaptation feels right became most important in colonial life. And as a safe haven for those who were persecuted in their home countries, America truly flourished as a place for the religiously tolerant.
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.
America has been built on freedom throughout the years. Freedom to speak, freedom to choose, freedom to worship, and freedom to do just about anything you want within that of the law. America’s law has been designed to protect and preserve these freedoms. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. It assures citizens that the federal government shall not restrict freedom of worship. It specifically prohibits Congress from establishing an official, government supported church. Under The First Amendment, the federal government cannot require citizens to pay taxes to support a certain church, nor can people be prohibited from worshipping in any way they see fit. However, if a certain religion recommends a practice that is contrary to public morals, such as polygamy, Congress may prohibit such a practice (Weidner, Daniel, 2002). The people of the United States also have the right to assemble peaceably under the First Amendment. The only restriction comes from the word peaceably. Assembly may not be prevented, as long as the proper authorities have reasonable assurance that the meeting will be peaceful (Weidner, Daniel, 2002).
Marriage, as an institution, has evolved in the last few decades. As society progresses, the ideas and attitudes about marriage have shifted. Today, individuals are able to choose their partners and are more likely marry for love than convenience. While individuals are guaranteed the right to marry and the freedom to choose their own partners, it has not always been this way. Starting from colonial times up until the late 1960’s, the law in several states prohibited interracial marriages and unions. Fortunately, in 1967, a landmark case deemed such laws as unconstitutional. Currently, as society progresses, racism and social prejudice have decreased and interracial marriages have become, not only legal, but also widely accepted.
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?
While polygamy is illegal in America, there are roughly 30,000 to 50,000 people who live in polygamous families. According to an article in the International Business Times, about “forty thousand people in America are self-described Mormon fundamentalist who practice plural marriage and the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Chris of Latter Day Saints remains the largest organized fundamentalist group in the world.” Jeffs grew up in a religious community known as FLDS, a radical branch from Mormonism, but it is not recognized within the mainstream Mormon Church....
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...
As more Americans enter the cultural melting pot and cross ethnic and social barriers, the rate of interfaith marriages has increased, not because persons are less committed to their faith traditions, but because there is a new reality in which old barriers are breaking down. In the western hemisphere the issue of interfaith marriage is widely debated among all religious traditions. Many conservative denominations believe that, "A believer marrying or intending to marry an unbeliever is clearly going against the expressed commandment of God" (J.J. Lim) . Other religious denominations view intermarriages as, "The unity within diversity that adds a richness and beauty to marriage and to life" (Rev. Tom Chulak) . Regardless of one's religious denomination, a person's religion comprises the framework of meaning and the source of his or her values. When two people marry they bring with them their strengths and weaknesses, hopes and fears, and their religious dimension that plays a significant role in their relationship, decisions and responses to each other. For this reason, many issues and challenges arise within interfaith marriages that require accommodations by each person including how the couple will deal with their religious difference, what religion they will teach to their children, and how their respective religious communities will respond to interfaith marriages. No two couples manage the adjustments that need to be made within an interfaith marriage in the same way. This is because there is no standard or typical Christian, Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim. Their knowledge, commitment, practice and attachment to the respective religious traditions, and their knowledge of, attitude and affinity toward the religious tradition of their spouses are so different that no two couples have the same experience.
...n the legal realm is not enough. To truly make a difference, we must change the status quo; we must shift our own attitudes to become more accepting of alternative ways of conducting intimate relationships. Considering that it does not harm love, it does not harm children, and it does not harm the moral fibre of society, there is no reason why polyamory should not be viewed as a perfectly legitimate lifestyle choice. And in the end, that is what it comes down to: choice. Polyamory represents the ability to choose who to involve yourself with, and who to entrust with your emotional, intellectual, and sexual needs. This is a freedom that can lead to happier, more fulfilling lives, and thus is a freedom that no one has the right to bar. As Trudeau once famously said: “the state has no place in the bedrooms of the people”, and neither do other people – unless invited in.
“Polygamy is defined as a marriage in which a spouse of either gender has more than one mate at the same time. Polygamy is considered a valid form of marriage in many countries and communities around the globe” (Al-Krenawi). However, polygamy is illegal in the United States. Those who practice polygamy in America can only be “legally” married to one spouse; therefore, the subsequent spouses in a polygamist relationship hold a “singl...
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