Abstract
By definition, polygamy is the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. Polygamy has been commonly associated with the Mormon Church and television
Shows like: Big Love or Sister Wives. Due to differing beliefs between polygamists and monogamists on the sanctity of marriage and relationships, those who have multiple partners are looked at as pariahs and their beliefs as taboo. Polygamy remains one of the key topics in various societies. It is through cultural practices, beliefs and also the individuals’ choices that people decide to be committed to polygamy lifestyles. Polygyny remains widespread across the world.
There are consequences to each type of marriage that certain individuals might adapt to. Women who have entered into polygamous marriages have different experiences that can be enriching to those who practice monogamy. This paper highlights the impact plural marriage have on both children and families in the Church of Latter-Day Saints and the long-term effects. This paper further suggests that the male-controlled power structure appears to play a powerful and effective role in polygamous marriages in our societies. There is also an examination of the complexities of polygamous marriages from a worldview with the hope of understanding the nature and evolution of
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The act of entering into marriage while still married to another person is referred to as bigamy and is prohibited by Section 290 of the Criminal Code of Canada (Minister of Justice 2014). Polygamy in Canada is often associated with those of the Mormon faith, although in 1890 the Mormon Church officially renounced polygamy. Fundamentalist Mormons, such as those in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), on the other hand, still hold tightly to the historic Mormon beliefs and practices and allow polygamy in their
In fact, the number of divorces in Canada for every 100,000 people has decreased from a high of 362.3 in 1987 to 220.7 in 2005 (Wyman 1). Yet when we exclude the large and sudden jump of the Page 2 divorce rate in the 1980’s, we can see the overall national divorce rate is still gradually increasing from those of an earlier time period, which is to be expected due to the continued changes in societal norms.... ... middle of paper ... ... A senseless census reform."
"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.
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.
The article Breaking the Cycle Mother, Daughter Find It Can Be Difficult to Leave Polygamy behind Polygamy: It 's Tough to Break the Cycle by Joan O 'Brien is about a mother’s experience leaving a polygamous marriage. This mother, Betsy Barlow of Salt Lake City also inspired her daughter, Ellen to do the same thing. It is explained that Mrs. Barlow felt that being a part of a polygamous marriage was defeating for women and herself. O’Brien states, “Barlow believes that in practice, polygamy ``suppresses ' ' women”. Most women would drop out of High school to raise children for the one husband and Mrs. Barlow was taught that this was the only way to reach the celestial kingdom. Her parents taught her this and she openly admits to teaching her
Harmer-Dionne, Elizabeth. "Once a Peculiar People: Cognitive Dissonance and the Suppression of Mormon Polygamy As a Case Study Negating the Belief-Action Distinction." JSTOR. JSTOR. Web. 19 Oct. 2010. .
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.
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: “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.
Then the article connects to how fraternal polyandry is similar to nineteenth century marriage in England. Even though they are similar, Tibetan “believe that in this way fraternal polyandry reduces risk of fission, monogamous marriage among brother need to necessarily precipitate the division of family estate” (“When Brothers Share a Wife”). Then the article goes into how the author of this article, Melvyn C. Goldstein, asked the Tibetan people on why they marry this way. Some said it makes the family more stable and other said that is keeps conflict from affecting
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...
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.
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.
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
(Bâ, 2008, p. 38). This speech reveals that both wife and husband have the obligation of supporting the polygamy. Modou’s obligation is to God as he intentionally wanted Modou to marry again while according to Tamsir, Ramatoulaye’s obligation is to allow the marriage to occur and accept the situation as it is her duty to support her husband’s decisions. Furthermore, Mawdo also married again. His and Nabou’s marriage is to some extent similar to Modou’s.