Why is polygamy illegal?

Logic316

It's just one of those laws that were intended to protect people for their own good. One wife is usually already more than enough, so any man who insists on starting a collection of them is probably crazy. And in reality, polygamist marriages here in the U.S. have always created an emotionally unhealthy power imbalance in the family where all the wives would stab each other in the back and constantly compete for their husband's affection.

pumpkinface

I don't think it's just a tax issue...the law also needs to reflect the values of society and most people believe that polygamy is immoral (myself included) for so many reasons.

rageonyx

Think about this: a man has 5 wives. each of his wives has 5 husbands. Those 5 husbands have another 4 wives each. It's a legal NIGHTMARE sorting out which children get what percentage of the inheritance.

Also, rich/beautiful people would corner the market on the supply of hot young mates.. leaving the poor ugly people with no legal way to "get some". This opens the door to adultery, rape, frustration and --- remember Lorena Bobbit? Yeah...

history.illuminates

Christianity evolved away from polygamy.

What we learned is that monogamy is a far more efficient way to run a free democratic society. Monogamous marriages are built on a bond of love that only grows between 2 people, not 5. The marriages are much stronger.

Stronger marriages take quite a bit of stress off governments. They not only provide child care, the adults take care of each other in sickness and unemployment. They provide elder care.

Polygamous marriages provide benefits to extended families and tribes, but they only work when women's rights are restricted. A woman with a choice isn't going to be some old man's 5th wife.

Societies that can't take advantage of their women's labors don't thrive. Polygamy also creates a lot of excess men who can't find wives. They also don't contribute much to the economy. They tend to get very resentful and restless.

It isn't a coincidence that polygamy is practiced in very poor countries and not in Western civilization. If we legalize it in the US, there are many polygamous families who want to flee the countries that have been ruined by it, and bring it here with them.

No thanks. There are human rights issues and for some people there are religious issues. It doesn't matter. The economic and legal issues are overwhelming and there is no one lobbying for polygamy.

ioerr

Because that's the way the ball bounces.

But I'm glad it's illegal. Societies with a lot of polygamy tend to have a large surplus of young, unmarriable men wandering around.

Perhaps you can imagine why that wouldn't be an optimal situation today.

Elana

The illegality of polygamy is a direct reflection of the moral values of the country. Most people in the US inherit many of their values from Christianity and Christianity has generally abhored polygamy for hundreds of years (though yes, there are exceptions).

The same can be said about why people are trying to keep gay marriage illegal. They don't really know why they don't like it - they don't like it because they've been taught to not like it.

Gay marriage, however, has far fewer practical issues to be worked out (such as how children should be dealt with), whereas polygamy is complex even in societies that have had it for centuries.

Yes, it is very easy for some people to become 2nd class citizens in a polygamous environment, particularly one that has only one gender with multiple mates. Should that make it illegal? I don't think so - men are physically bigger than women and that can lead to a disparity - so why isn't THAT illegal?

Sure, tax and inheritance laws would have to change, but all that's doable if society really wanted it.

Sure, good looking rich people would have even more mates and perhaps less well endowed people might end up with less. Maybe.

However, we don't out-law good looking rich people in current society - and they certainly have advantages NOW, don't they?

Ultimately, I think these are all excuses.

Ultimately, I think enough people really don't like the idea but can't think through logical consistent reasons to make it illegal - but there are so few enough people who want it that it doesn't appear to be an issue of the tyranical majority forcing their view on the weak minority (which is arguably how gays are able to fight for gay marriage, since the US dislikes they idea of a tyranical majority).

If you had enough people who wanted it and made a stink about the illogic of other people's reasons to not have it, then we'd have polygamists rights marches and debates and ... well, eventually, we might see that sort of change happen - as it happening now with gay rights.

Lets pick on another, arguably more extreme, issue as comparison: Human cloning.

Most people are revolted at the concept and will try to make it illegal by saying that it is immoral but not really be able to defend their point of view.

Sure there are problems that might be associated with cloning (such as people "growing" clones for the parts), but that isn't a problem with cloning - that is a problem with murder. If you view a clone as a person and give him/her all the same rights, what problems are you left with?

The only non new, non religious issue I can see it bringing up is that it has the potential to distort the mix in the gene pool (in extreme examples). In realistic numbers (a small number of clones), that is no worse than some people having large numbers of kids and others not.

If there is a great enough demand for the wonders of cloning, then people will actually start to debate the issue instead of just labelling it morally wrong, and you can imagine even that starting to change.

Polygamy is the same - if/when there is enough demand for it, the idea that it is morally wrong will be debated on the basis of science rather than gut feel, and (if there are no compelling reasons not to), it would become legal.

Personally, I think the social constraints of marriage will break down before polygamy becomes legal - people are just too petty and jealous to make such an arrangement survive without having 2nd class citizens. There was a great show on TLC less than a week ago called (I think) "My third wife", where a guy had 1 legal wife and 2 others living with him as wives. It studied their relationships - and how things eventually fell apart. People don't share nicely.

Still, he had 2 wives for more than 5 years.

Is the assumption that it won't work sufficient reason to ban it?

moon sugar vehk

it makes an unbalance and the church is kinda a pretty controlling factor in government polygamy in the bible always lead to bad

Christopher K

For everyone's physical good, I imagine.

groveportbuffdwarf

because the majority of people in that country believe it is morally wrong. Seriously, that's all there is to it. To answer why it is deemed immoral in most societies today would be taking a trip down the ancestry/religious/historical/regional/c... path. but short answer, cause most of the people in that particular area want it that way.

m0dernangel

Western marriage law is descended from classical Greek and Roman law. Societies that embrace polygamy also tend to restrict women's rights, and where women are little more than property, the wealthy tend to accumulate wives as a form of wealth. Polygamy was permissible under Judaean law in New Testament times - King Herod had some 10 wives - and this was consistent with Middle Eastern marriage practices. Women's rights were far more advanced under Greco-Roman law, and coincidentally, monogamy was the model of Roman marriage law.

Christianity portrays Jesus as treating women like equals rather than servants and chattel, and his sermons often suggested wealth corrupts one's relationship with God. So, it's easy to see why Christianity leaned toward a monogamous model of marriage, and this probably helped the religion spread more easily to the upper classes in Roman civilization than it did in Jesus' own Judea. From there, the interplay between Roman law and Christian morality has kept the legal institution of marriage monogamous in Western culture.

You asked so...

Genetics. Polygamist marry relatives and end up having kids with genetic problems. Ultimately, it's sick and all about control in the worst sick sort of way.

Registered Ninja

That's a good question that should be answered in song.. in some musical, I could see this topic brought up in highschool musical 3.

Carandy1

The problem comes because far too often these "marriages" are not between consenting adults. Unfortunately young girls are forced to marry men that are much older then themselves. And often those men are relatives. Then those young girls are forced to have children, who may or may not be born healthy. They are also forced to live under the rule of the older wives.
I do know that many of the Old Testament prophets were polygamists. Unfortunately in this day and age it is no longer a religious right but a perversion.
The laws were put into place to protect the Innocent young women. Still too many are forced into these sick perverted relationships, with no freedoms or rights.
P.S. Mormons do not practice polygamy, the Mormon Church considers polygamy a sin. The FLDS church are the polygamists, they are not Mormons but an evil cult that claims to believe in some of the same scripture. If they were truly Mormons they would be ex-communicated for the sin of living as a polygamist.

audrey s

the reason that polygamy is illegal in the united states is because the supreme court rejected it due to the statement that the united states is a christian nation. granted most polygamist religions such as renegade mormon churches are christian, polygamy is not i guess.

David C

"but yet some of the heroes of the Old Testament were polygamists and that has been illegal for years. "
I'm not sure who your talking about, but the bible does not condone or support Polygamy. Polygamy usually leads down a long road of underage marriages and arranged marriages, look at the cults related to mormonism.

Furley

Ornery female wives. The ovaries are why it is illegal. Or other jealous men.

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