Plural marriage, Christian Polygamy,
polygamy,
polygyny, polyandry....
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Overview:
The term "polygamy" is a marital practice in which a person has more
than one spouse simultaneously. 1 It
is rare in North America, where only two forms of marriage are most commonly found:
Monogamy in which two people are married to each other, hopefully
"till death do us part," and
Serial monogamy in which a person has more than one spouse during their
lifetime, although they are married to only one at a given time.
Polygamous marriages are not legal in North America in the sense that none
can be formally registered with the government. However, thousands of polygamous
families exist and are largely ignored by their state and provincial
governments, mainly in the state of Utah in the U.S. and the province of British
Columbia, Canada.
Most polygamous families in North America fall into one of two types:
Some involve coupling a plural marriage structure with a religion --
generally Christianity --that is designed as an authoritarian dictatorship
and which advocates an authoritarian, male dominated, family structure.
Wives are often expected to apply for government welfare as single mothers.
Sexual and physical abuse of children and youths is common. Teen males are
often driven from their towns in order to artificially generate a surplus of
women. These families are often affiliated with relatively small religious groups that are part of
the Mormon movement, although they have been excommunicated from the main
Mormon denomination: The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
Others are single polygamous families scattered across the U.S. and
Canada whose members freely decide to come together. They form families
based on the equality of all members. They exist within a wide range of
Christian denominations and in other religions.