For me, it started with a question: why exactly do we outlaw polygamy? I was reading about a freedom of religion case currently unfolding in Canada.
A breakaway traditionalist Mormon sect in Bountiful, British Columbia, has practiced polygyny for years– men traditionally marry at last 3 women, in the belief that doing so helps guarantee their entry into heaven.
British Columbia has previously tried two men from this sect under anti-polygamy laws, but failed on technicalities. Now, prosecutors have asked a British Columbian Supreme Court to decide whether outlawing polygamy is a violation of freedom of religion.
Many Americans have heard about our own country’s well-publicized prosecutions of polygamists (think Warren Jeffs) and are familiar with TV show about the topic, both fictional (Big Love) and true (Sister Wives). And most Americans are probably against polygamy, if they’re anything like I am: raised Christian and steeped in the American tradition of one husband, one wife.
But I read the article and started wondering: why exactly do we outlaw polygamy? Even if my instinct is to say polygamy is wrong, I couldn’t come up with a good reason why, other than an answer based in Christian doctrine or American custom.
Let me be absolutely clear: I do not condone, in any way, the underage and forced marriages that seem all too common among ultraconservative religious groups that do practice polygamy. I also, personally, don’t like the idea of polygamy and would never take part in it or promote it. I don’t think it’s fair to have to share a relationship as significant as marriage, for one thing. But that’s just my opinion.
Statutory rape, rape, forced and underage marriage and other crimes are already illegal and are already prosecutable (and should be aggressively pursued). What’s not clear is what good it does to go one step more and outlaw polygamy. After all, people can live with whomever they want. They can form relationships with whomever they want (polyamory, loving and forming relationships with many people, is common around the world). Furthermore, there are plenty of other things that are not illegal that can lead to bad things, too– should we outlaw all of them? Of course not.
So why do we outlaw polygamy?
Some people say it’s to clear up what would be extremely complicated legal cases if someone married multiple people. (Which wife gets to decide if a husband is taken off life support?) But in reality, we already face those extremely complicated legal cases in regular marriages and situations (remember Teri Schiavo?). And has anyone seen the tax code lately? It’s thousands of page long. I don’t think anyone can really argue complicated laws and complicated situations don’t already exist.
There’s the moral reason: in a country heavily based on Judeo-Christian values, most Americans probably recoil at the idea of polygamy because of moral or ethical values. No major Christian or Jewish denomination endorses polygamy.
There’s also the “civilizing” rationale: marriage is the pinnacle of civilization and enlightenment, and only “backward” cultures practice polygamy. But that’s a pretty Euro-centric view. Some Islamic cultures allow polygamous marriages, as well as some African ethnic groups, for starters. (For more details, see the information in the International Encyclopedia of Sexuality, or the footnote references in this Wikipedia entry). The scenario most of us are familiar with is polygyny, when a man has multiple wives. But polyandry (in which a woman has more than one husband) has also existed in various cultures around the world for centuries (an article from just a few years ago profiled a small community in Nepal where it had been the norm for years until economics of the region changed).
As much as it might go against my instinct, there’s no good legal reason to make polygamy a crime, and certainly no good reason that outweighs the possibility of trampling on genuine religious beliefs that proclaim polygamy a good thing, or even a required practice. At the least, we shouldn’t pursue criminal charges against people who practice polygamy when no other crimes have been committed.
Tags: Canada, court case, freedom of religion, Fundamentalist Mormon Church, polygamy
