Monogamy

Here in the United States most of us believe that the definition of marriage equals monogamy, no questions asked. As a matter of fact most of us don’t even think about marriages being any other way, and, we tend to think that those cultures/ persons that practice marriage any other way is odd. Actually, there are four primary definitions of marriage: monogamy; polygamy; polyandry; group marriage. Monogamy means a person has only one spouse or sexual partner at a time. Polygamy means having more than one spouse or sexual partner at the same time. Polyandry is when a woman has more than one husband. Group Marriage or Circle marriage is when more than “…one man and more than one woman form a family unit, and all members of the marriage share parental responsibility for any children arising from the marriage.” Polyfidelity and/or Polyamory refers to all forms of multi-partner relating between adults which are ethical and consensual. Historically, monogamy was much less practiced than polygamy and was practiced here in the United States openly until the late 1800’s.

In, Reynolds vs. United States (1878), the Supreme Court upheld the Morril Act, refusing to recognize polygamy as a legitimate religious practice thereby not allowing it to fall under the 1st Amendment right to freedom of religion. “1882, Congress passed the Edmunds Act, which prohibited polygamists from holding political office and disqualified them from serving on juries.” “Then in 1887, Congress passed the Edmunds- Tucker Bill, which required, among other things, wives of polygamous relationships to testify against their husbands.” “On October 6, 1890, the Mormon church officially approved a Manifesto that required the church no longer sanction polygamous marriages” During the Civil War period any state that wanted to join the Union had to ban polygamy from its constitution. It is under the Mann Act that gives the right for prosecution of those who illegally practice polygamy. The Supreme Court stated that polygamous marriages were “…almost exclusively a feature of the life of Asiatic and African people.” And that the practice is "contrary to the spirit of Christianity and of the civilization which Christianity has produced in the Western World." Being that this country was founded on Christian values and that Christianity’s root is from Judaism this viewpoint can be viewed as contradictory because the practice of polygamy is actually one of the common threads between Christians, Jews and Muslims.

Both Christianity and Islam have its roots in Judaism and rely on the Old Testament as great parts of their holy book. The Old Testament is filled with historical accounts of polygamous marriages/ relationships. Holy figures such as Abraham, David, and Solomon were all polygamists. Solomon is recorded as having 700 wives and 300 concubines. Mohammed the most revered prophet in Islam is recorded as having had 10 wives, although the Qu’ran limits multiple wives to four. Martin Luther the father of Protestantism, once accepted polygamy