Preview

Should Polygamy Be Legalized?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
708 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Should Polygamy Be Legalized?
In today’s developing world, it is common for people to desire more than one spouse. It is difficult to commit to just one person; therefore the divorce rate is increasing every day. Polygamy is when a person marries more than one spouse. Polygyny applies to a man having multiple wives and polyandry is when a woman has more than one husband at a time. In most cases it is the men who have multiple spouses rather than women. The question remains whether this should be legalized or not. Having more than one spouse should be illegal because marriage means committing to one person alone, it would affect the family financially and it would be considered morally wrong to the whole society.

Having more than one spouse should be illegal because marriage means committing to one person alone. In marrying more than one spouse it remains ambiguous as towards whom the man’s loyalty lies. It is not possible for a husband to treat all his wives equally in terms of respect, passion and devotion. Marriage means the union of only one man and one woman; therefore the true purpose and meaning of marriage is ignored when a person marries multiple spouses. Marriage is considered sacred to the mass population; therefore it is important that it is treated with respect and honor. Some religions allow men to have more than one wife. For example, in Islam a man can marry up to four wives as long as the first wife is aware of it and grants him permission to do so. The wives should be treated equally at all times. This usually creates conflict as it is impracticable for the man to care and treat all of his wives equally.

Having more than one spouse should be illegal because it would affect the whole family financially. Financial decisions between the multiple spouses would cause conflict in the family household. After taking on multiple wives, the husband may not be capable of supporting all the spouses financially, and in most cases one of the spouses may be treated inferior to the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Bats and Vocab 18

    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages

    polygamy­ the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time…

    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “It should also be emphasize that equality of treatment with regard to the right to marry implies that polygamy is incompatible with this principle. Polygamy violates the dignity of women. It is an inadmissible discrimination against women. Consequently,…

    • 134 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In time, with both the influence of technology and a more culturally-accepting generation, this number will only begin to climb. Polyamory is a natural and healthy part of committed relationships. Monogamish relationships are all about finding the best situation for both you and your partner to have your emotional and physical needs fulfilled , and the definition of monogamish may vary from couple to couple. The rapper Pitbull summed it up best “People are stuck on what’s normal, what’s right, what’s wrong. Maybe what’s right to you is wrong to me...What count’s at the end of the day is everybody being happy”…

    • 890 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    For many years, there have been arguments as to whether or not Polygamist practices should be allowed in the United States. In 1862, the United States Congress passed a law that forbid “polygyny”, a form of polygamy in which men are married to multiple women partners. However, many Mormon groups still practiced this illegally until their church banned it in 1890. Although the law put a stop to many Polygamist practices, some Mormon’s decided that they were too committed and were not going to stray away from the original Mormon beliefs because of the law (Keith 650). Polygamy in the United States has been political controversy for numerous years. Most people believe that it should not be allowed or passed by legislature, due to the many cons of the religion. Allowing polygamy not only increases the number of sexually transmitted diseases, but also confuses their children, and does not give women the right to equalities in marriage.…

    • 1789 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Are Mormons Polygamist?

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages

    But the fact is a few church officials liked the idea of having more then one spouse. In 1852 Joseph Smith and the church congregation publically announced at the Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah that plural marriages were a godly practice to be considered. So they took for themselves multiple wives. A lot of them being 14 to 17 year old girls and had numerous children with them. A few short years later, because we live America where majority rules the decision was made, July 1864 to prohibit the practice of polygamy. Making it a misdemeanor charge in 9 states under the morril anti-bigamy act. Latter in March 1882 came the Edmund act, reinforcing the morrill act making it a felony on all us territory where the government has exclusive jurisdiction. Most of the marriages that had taken place ended in divorce or were annulled. However some families stayed together and continued to live in secrecy. Today there are said to be as many as 50,000 polygamist communities dotted across the American west. Most of them are fundamentalist Mormons practicing in secret societies, rebelling against the church and the…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Polygamy In Canada Essay

    • 1443 Words
    • 6 Pages

    With reasonable guidelines in place to prevent human right violations, should polygamy be legal in Canada? First of all, a clear definition of the term is required: “Polygamy occurs when one husband is married to two or more wives” (Ozkan,M et al,215) .This scenario is not common in North America however has been known to occur in the past. To gain an insight to the world of polygamy, it seems that research has been undertook investigating its effects in areas of the world where it is more common, for example, the Muslim world. The decision as to whether Polygamy should be legal in Canada will be based on the research found on the effects of Polygamy on both the children of the senior and junior wife. “A senior wife is defined as a woman who was followed by another wife into the marriage. A junior wife is the most recent wife joining the marriage” (Al-Krenawi,447). In-depth research has taken place into the emotional,…

    • 1443 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this essay I will argue the point that polygamy will not work in the Australian society in which we live today. ‘Polygamy is not merely an exotic habit of a few faraway people. A wide range of very different societies allow a man to be married to more that one wife simultaneously and is even today a viable form of marriage in large parts of the world’. (Bretschneider 1995 p.11) I will support my argument based on the reasons some of these cultures practice polygamy and why in Australia there is no need for this type of marriage. There are many theories to explain the development of polygamy within cultures, I will examine several of these reasons and compare them to the Australian society of today.…

    • 1441 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sundiata

    • 618 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The term Polygamy (literally much marriage in Greek) is used in related ways in social anthropology and sociobiology. In social anthropology, polygamy is the practice of marriage to more than one spouse simultaneously (as opposed to monogamy where each person has only one spouse at a time). Like monogamy, the term is often used in a de facto sense, applying regardless of whether the relationships are recognized by the state. In sociobiology, polygamy is used in a broad sense to mean any form of multiple mating. In a narrower sense, used by zoologists, polygamy includes a pair bond, perhaps temporary. In this sense, multiple mating is defined as promiscuous.…

    • 618 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A. Marriage is a legally recognized and socially approved arrangement between two or more individuals that carries certain rights and obligation and usually involves sexual activities. In the United States, the only legally sanctioned form of marriage is monogamy which is a marriage between two partners usually a man and a woman. Polygamy is the concurrent marriage of a person of one sex with two or more members of the opposite sex. The most prevalent form of polygamy is polygyny the con current marriage of one man with two or more woman. Polygyny has been practiced in a number of societies; including parts of Europe until the Middle Ages more recently Islamic societies in Africa and Asia have been polygynous; however the cost of providing for multiple wives and numerous children makes the practice impossible for all but the wealthiest men. The second type of polygamy is polyandry the concurrent marriage of one woman with two…

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Monogamy In Canada

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Polygamy was first banned in Canada in the late 19th century (these laws can be found under the Canadian Criminal Code in sections 290 [bigamy] and 293 [polygamy]), other laws were passed ( such as section156 – section 158 of the Canadian criminal code forbidding any non paired and 'public' copulation, legally repealed in 1985) though some of these laws have somewhat been repealed the social ramifications have allowed monogamy to officially be the only legal and socially accepted form of relationship within Canadian society. Monogamy is acknowledged world wide and practiced everywhere, even in areas of the world where polygamy is the most prevalent form of relationship. Though humans have had various configurations of relationships…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    One man having more than one wife can be a deviant behavior depending on the country and a person's beliefs. Polygamy is considered normal and lawful in many countries, but it is outlawed in the United States. The people that believe in it say that monogamy is not natural and it oppresses the social structure. Those against it, say it is a religious offense, or that it violates a spouse's right to intimacy. The Mormon belief is that polygamy is holy and was practiced commonly in ancient times. Having more than one wife is not only natural it is expected in most cases. However in other societies, some believe it is not only wrong but it's also against the law. The law can be tricky at times especially when it involves religion because as long…

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Polygamy In Canada

    • 1795 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Although polygamy has been around for many decades, we have been witnesses to how several groups of people in our society look at the practice. Although from the research that was conducted for the purpose of this paper we are able to understand that the thought of doing this practice was not openly accepted in early decades by all; however, it wasn’t until the world learned about what Warren Jeff’s did to his wives and children of his community that the most of the world was completely against plural marriages and plural families. It was after the Warren Jeff’s case that many people believed that plural families would not be suitable for children to be brought up in, however, as we have seen that is not the case. Plural marriage allows for the sharing of children to be loved by many individuals. It is quite clear that the questions this essay set out to look into have now been answered. Yes, polygamy might not be the most common and viewed as the best way to raise a family that being said, as long as the family is caring and loving and raising the children without causing any harm to them then they should be able to live in peace with the lifestyle they have…

    • 1795 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Polyandry Research Paper

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This clarify what is polyandry and how can it relates with law and morality in law , polyandry includes marriage that incorporates more than two accomplices and can fall under the more extensive classification of polyamory. All the more particularly, it is a type of polygamy, where a lady takes two or more spouses in the meantime. Polyandry is stood out from polygyny, including one male and two or more females. On the off chance that a marriage includes a plural number of "married couples" members of every sexual orientation, then it can be called polyamory, bunch or conjoint marriage[ http://www.sociologyguide.com/marriage-family-kinship/Types-of-marriages.php].…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Polygamy In America Essay

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages

    According to Merriam Webster Dictionary marriage is defined as, “the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife.” In some countries polygamy meaning the practice of multiple marriages where men have more than one wife is adopted as part of their culture and beliefs. The community’s polygamists derive their theology from early Mormon teachings. Even though polygamy in the U.S. is forbidden and criminal offenses, Mormon fundamentalists known as sects continue the practice of plural marriage and despite federal opposition.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Polygamy In America

    • 1103 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Polygamy is the practice of having more than two people in a relationship or in marriage. Polygamy has been practiced for many centuries and has been practiced by many different individuals and cultures all around the world. Polygamy was accepted by different societies and as time passed by it was accepted in many countries around the world. Polygamy has been a controversial issue in America and has affected our society for over a thousand years. I am against polygamy because it is capable of destroying the importance of marriage and the intimacy between husband and wife. Not only does it affect marriage but it also affects the values of society.…

    • 1103 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics