Countries Where Polygamy Is Legal
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Snapshot
In contrast to monogamy, polygamy refers to marriages among three or more people; only 2% of the global population lives in polygamous households.
Globally, the legality and acceptance of polygamy vary. It is illegal in the Americas and most of Europe, recognized for Muslims in parts of Asia, and outlawed yet tolerated due to loopholes in some African countries.
Polygamy's ethical and societal value is contested; some argue it creates stable families, while others see it as exploitative and reinforcing gender inequalities.
Polygamy is the term used to describe a marriage among at least three people. Polygamy contrasts with monogamy, which is a marriage between only two people. While monogamy is the standard approach to marriage in Europe and the Americas, polygamy is common in much of Africa and the Middle East, and is also seen in parts of Southeast Asia. Ultimately, however, according to Pew Research released in , "only about 2% of the global population lives in polygamous households."
The morality and societal worth of polygamy are fiercely debated. Westerners who p
Legality of polygamy in the United States
Polygamy was outlawed in federal territories by the Edmunds Act, and there are laws against the practice in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam,[1] and Puerto Rico.[2] Because state laws exist, polygamy is not actively prosecuted at the federal level.[3]
Many US courts (e.g. Turner v. S., Miss. , 55 So.2d ) treat bigamy as a strict liability crime: in some jurisdictions, a person can be convicted of a felony even if he reasonably believed he had only one legal spouse. For example, if a person has the mistaken belief that their previous spouse is dead or that their divorce is final, they can still be convicted of bigamy if they marry a new person.[4]
Federal law
[edit]According to the Edmunds Act, bigamy is punishable by "a fine of not more than five hundred dollars and by imprisonment for a term of not more than five years".[5] However, because state laws exist, polygamy is not actively prosecuted at the federal level,[3] but the practice is considered "against public policy".
Legislation
[edit]Anti-polygamy bill of
[edit]The first legisla
Polygamy in North America
Practice of polygamy in North America
Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse at the same time. Specifically, polygyny is the practice of one man taking more than one wife while polyandry is the practice of one woman taking more than one husband. Polygamy is a common marriage pattern in some parts of the world. In North America, polygamy has not been a culturally normative or legally recognized institution since the continent's colonization by Europeans.
Polygamy became a significant social and political issue in the United States in , when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) made it known that a form of the practice, called plural marriage, was part of its doctrine. Opposition to the practice by the United States government resulted in an intense legal conflict, and culminated in LDS Church presidentWilford Woodruff announcing the church's official abandonment of the practice on September 25, [1] However, breakaway Mormon fundamentalist groups living mostly in the western United States, Canada, and Mexico still practice plural marriage. In the United States, de facto polygamy is illegal under f
polygamy
Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse at the same time. Polygamy as a crime originated in the common law , and it is now outlawed in every state. In the United States, polygamy was declared unlawful through the passing of Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of
In Murphy v. Ramsey, U.S. 15 , the Supreme Court held that polygamist means “every person who has a husband or wife living, who, in a territory or other place over which the United States have exclusive jurisdiction , hereafter marries another, whether married or single, and any man who hereafter simultaneously or on the same day marries more than one woman, in a territory or other place over which the United States have exclusive jurisdiction.”
As a crime, polygamy is often synonymous with bigamy (marrying one spouse while already being married to another).
[Last reviewed in March of by the Wex Definitions Team ]
Keywords
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