Polygamy: Difference between revisions

'''Polygamy''' (from [[Late Greek]] {{wikt-lang|grc|πολυγαμία}} (''{{translit|grc-transl|πολυγαμίαpolygamía}}''), "state of marriage to many spouses").<ref name="Harper">{{OEtymD|polygamy}} {{Cite web |url=http://etymonline.com/?term=Polygamy |title=Polygamy &#124; Etymology, origin and meaning of polygamy by etymonline |access-date=1 February 2016 |archive-date=1 February 2016 |archive-url=https://timetravel.mementoweb.org/memento/20160201154242/etymonline.com/?term=Polygamy |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{LSJ|polugami/a|πολυγαμία|ref}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |work= Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek | title= πολυγαμία | url= http://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang/modern_greek/tools/lexica/triantafyllides/search.html?lq=πολυγαμία | publisher= [[Center for the Greek Language]] | language= el |url-status= live | archive-url= https://archive.today/20160201152346/http://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang/modern_greek/tools/lexica/triantafyllides/search.html?lq=%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%BB%CF%85%CE%B3%CE%B1%CE%BC%CE%AF%CE%B1 | archive-date= 1 February 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title= Dictionary of Modern Greek | language= el | first= Georgios | last= Babiniotis | author-link= Georgios Babiniotis | chapter= s.v. πολυγαμία | publisher = Lexicology Centre | year= 2002 |title-link= Babiniotis dictionary }}</ref> Polygamy is whenthe onepractice of [[marriage|marry]]ing multiple [[spouse]]s. When a [[man]] is married to multiplemore womenthan one wife at the same time., it Sociologists callis thiscalled [[polygyny]]. When a [[woman]] is married to more than one husband at athe same time, it is called [[polyandry]]. In [[sociobiology]] and [[zoology]], researchers use ''polygamy'' in a broad sense to mean any form of multiple [[mating]].

Outside of the legal sphere, defining polygamy can be difficult because of differences in cultural assumptions regarding monogamy. Some societies believe that monogamy requires limiting sexual activity to a single partner for life.<ref name="Sheff">{{cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-polyamorists-next-door/201407/seven-forms-non-monogamy|author=Sheff, Elisabeth|title=Seven Forms of Non-Monogamy|date=July 22, 2014|website=Psychology Today}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Kramer | first1=Karen L. | last2=Russell | first2=Andrew F. | title=Kin-selected cooperation without lifetime monogamy: human insights and animal implications | journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=29 | issue=11 | year=2014 | issn=0169-5347 | doi=10.1016/j.tree.2014.09.001 | pages=600–606| pmid=25267298 | bibcode=2014TEcoE..29..600K }}</ref> Others accept or endorse pre-marital sex prior to marriage.<ref>{{citation | last=Schacht | first=Ryan N. | title=Cassava and the Makushi: A Shared History of Resiliency and Transformation | publisher=Bloomsbury, T&T Clark | year=2013 | pages=15–30 | doi=10.5040/9781350042162.ch-001| isbn=9781350042162 }}</ref> Some societies consider sex outside of marriage<ref>{{cite book | last1=Beckerman | first1=Stephen | last2=Valentine | first2=Paul | title=Cultures of Multiple Fathers | date=2002 | publisher=University Press of Florida | isbn=0-8130-2456-0}}</ref> or "spouse swapping"<ref>{{cite journal | last=Hennigh | first=Lawrence | title=Functions and Limitations of Alaskan Eskimo Wife Trading | journal=Arctic | publisher=The Arctic Institute of North America | volume=23 | issue=1 | date=1970-01-01 | issn=1923-1245 | doi=10.14430/arctic3151| doi-access=free }}</ref> to be socially acceptable. Some consider a relationship monogamous even if partners separate and move to a new monogamous relationship through death, divorce, or simple dissolution of the relationship, regardless of the length of the relationship (serial monogamy).<ref name="Schacht">{{cite journal |title=Are We Monogamous? A Review of the Evolution of Pair-Bonding in Humans and Its Contemporary Variation Cross-Culturally |journal=Front. Ecol. Evol. |date=2019-07-19 |last1=Schacht |first1=Ryan |last2=Kramer |first2=Karen |volume=7 |doi=10.3389/fevo.2019.00230 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Anthropologists characterize human beings as “mildly polygynous” or “monogamous with polygynous tendencies.”<ref name="pmid19403194">{{cite journal | last1=Brown | first1=Gillian R. | last2=Laland | first2=Kevin N. | last3=Mulder | first3=Monique Borgerhoff | title=Bateman's principles and human sex roles | journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=24 | issue=6 | year=2009 | issn=0169-5347 | doi=10.1016/j.tree.2009.02.005 | pages=297–304| pmid=19403194 | pmc=3096780 | bibcode=2009TEcoE..24..297B | s2cid=5935377 }}</ref><ref name="Frost">{{cite journal | last=Frost | first=Peter | title=Sexual selection and human geographic variation. | journal=Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology | publisher=American Psychological Association (APA) | volume=2 | issue=4 | year=2008 | issn=1933-5377 | doi=10.1037/h0099346 | pages=169–191}}</ref><ref name="Low">{{cite book | last=Low | first=Bobbi S. | title=Why Sex Matters | publisher=Princeton University Press | date=2015-01-04 | isbn=978-0-691-16388-8}}</ref><ref name="Scheidel">{{cite journal | last=Scheidel | first=Walter | title=Monogamy and Polygyny in Greece, Rome, and World History | journal=SSRN Electronic Journal | publisher=Elsevier BV | year=2008 | issn=1556-5068 | doi=10.2139/ssrn.1214729}}</ref> The average pre-historic man with modern descendants appears to have had children with between 1.5 women (70,000 years ago) to 3.3 women (45,000 years ago), except in East Asia.<ref name="pmid25254093">{{cite journal | last1=Lippold | first1=Sebastian | last2=Xu | first2=Hongyang | last3=Ko | first3=Albert | last4=Li | first4=Mingkun | last5=Renaud | first5=Gabriel | last6=Butthof | first6=Anne | last7=Schröder | first7=Roland | last8=Stoneking | first8=Mark | title=Human paternal and maternal demographic histories: insights from high-resolution Y chromosome and mtDNA sequences | journal=Investigative Genetics | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=5 | issue=1 | date=2014-09-24 | page=13 | issn=2041-2223 | doi=10.1186/2041-2223-5-13| pmid=25254093 | pmc=4174254 | s2cid=16464327 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Sample | first=Ian | title=More women than men have added their DNA to the human gene pool | website=the Guardian | date=2014-09-24 | url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/sep/24/women-men-dna-human-gene-pool | access-date=2023-06-30 | archive-date=30 June 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630220104/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/sep/24/women-men-dna-human-gene-pool | url-status=live }}</ref> While the forms of non-monogamy in prehistorical times is unknown, these rates could be consistent with a society that practices serial monogamy. Anthropological observations indicate that even when polygyny is accepted in the community, the majority of relationships in the society are monogamous in practice – while couples remain in the relationship, which may not be lifelong.<ref name="Schacht" /> Thus, in many historical communities, serial monogamy may have been the accepted practice rather than a lifelong monogamous bond.<ref name="Schacht" /> The genetic record indicates that monogamy increased within the last 5,000-10,000 years,<ref name="pmid12962309">{{cite journal |last1=Dupanloup |first1=Isabelle |last2=Pereira |first2=Luisa |last3=Bertorelle |first3=Giorgio |last4=Calafell |first4=Francesc |last5=Prata |first5=Maria |last6=Amorim |first6=Antonio |last7=Barbujani |first7=Guido |display-authors=etal |title=A recent shift from polygyny to monogamy in humans is suggested by the analysis of worldwide Y-chromosome diversity. |journal=J Mol Evol |year=2003 |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=85–97 |pmid=12962309 |doi=10.1007/s00239-003-2458-x |pmc= |bibcode=2003JMolE..57...85D |s2cid=2673314 |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12962309 |access-date=28 August 2023 |archive-date=28 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528105252/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12962309/ |url-status=live }}</ref> a period associated with the development of human agriculture, non-communal land ownership, and inheritance.<ref name="Goody" />

Polygyny, the practice wherein a man has more than one wife at the same time, is by far the most common form of polygamy. Many{{quantify|date=February 2019}}{{which|date=March 2022}} [[Muslim-majority countries]] and some countries with sizable Muslim minorities [[Polygyny in Islam|accept polygyny]] to varying extents both legally and culturally. In several countries, such as [[Polygyny in India|India]], the law only recognizes polygamous marriages for the Muslim population. [[Sharia|Islamic law]] or ''sharia'' is a [[religious law]] forming part of the [[Islam]]ic tradition which allows polygyny.<ref name=oxforddic>{{cite web |title=British & World English: sharia |url=https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/sharia |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=4 December 2015 |location=Oxford |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208120345/https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/sharia |archive-date=8 December 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/topics/religion/islam|title=Islam|website=HISTORY|date=20 August 2019|language=en|access-date=2020-01-24|archive-date=3 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503051151/https://www.history.com/topics/religion/islam|url-status=live}}</ref> It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the [[Quran]] and the [[hadith]]. In [[Arabic language|Arabic]], the term ''sharīʿah'' refers to [[God in Islam|God]]'s ([[Arabic]]: الله [[Allāh]]) immutable [[divine law]] and is contrasted with ''[[fiqh]]'', which refers to its human scholarly interpretations.<ref name=ODI>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Islamic Law |editor=John L. Esposito |encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2014 |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/print/opr/t125/e1107 |access-date=29 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331154513/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/print/opr/t125/e1107 |archive-date=31 March 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Knut S. |last=Vikør |title=Sharīʿah |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor=Emad El-Din Shahin |year=2014 |url=http://bridgingcultures.neh.gov/muslimjourneys/items/show/226 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140604214623/http://bridgingcultures.neh.gov/muslimjourneys/items/show/226 |archive-date=4 June 2014 |url-status=dead |accessdate=9 February 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Norman |last=Calder |title=Law. Legal Thought and Jurisprudence |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World |editor=John L. Esposito |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2009 |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0473 |access-date=9 February 2023 |archive-date=31 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731040109/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0473 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Polygyny is more widespread in [[Africa]] than on any other continent,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-IOAAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Northwestern University Press |location=Evanston |page=17 |isbn=9780810102705 |title=Many Wives, Many Powers: Authority and Power in Polygynous Families |year=1970 |access-date=23 March 2023 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404115521/https://books.google.com/books?id=-IOAAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=African polygamy: Past and present|url=https://voxeu.org/article/african-polygamy-past-and-present|last=Fenske|first=James|date=2013-11-09|website=VoxEU.org|access-date=2020-05-28|archive-date=18 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918162059/https://voxeu.org/article/african-polygamy-past-and-present|url-status=live}}</ref> especially in [[West Africa]], and some scholars see the [[Slave Trade|slave trade]]'s impact on the male-to-female sex ratio as a key factor in the emergence and fortification of polygynous practices in regions of Africa.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Henrich|first1=Joseph|last2=Boyd|first2=Robert|last3=Richerson|first3=Peter J.|date=2012-03-05|title=The puzzle of monogamous marriage|journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|language=en|volume=367|issue=1589|pages=657–669|doi=10.1098/rstb.2011.0290|issn=0962-8436|pmc=3260845|pmid=22271782}}</ref> In the region of [[sub-Saharan Africa]], polygyny is common and deeply rooted in the culture, with 11% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa living in such marriages (25% of the Muslim population and 3% of the Christian population, as of 2019).<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/12/07/polygamy-is-rare-around-the-world-and-mostly-confined-to-a-few-regions/|title=Polygamy is rare around the world and mostly confined to a few regions|first=Stephanie|last=Kramer|date=7 December 2020 |access-date=6 September 2021|archive-date=7 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407072545/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/12/07/polygamy-is-rare-around-the-world-and-mostly-confined-to-a-few-regions/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Pew, polygamy is widespread in a cluster of countries in West and Central Africa, including Burkina Faso, (36%), Mali (34%) and Nigeria (28%).<ref name="auto"/>

In monogamous societies, wealthy and powerful men may establish enduring relationships with, and established separate household for, multiple female partners, aside from their legitimate wives; a practice accepted in Imperial China up until the [[Qing Dynastydynasty]] of 1636–1912(1644–1912). This constitutes a form of ''[[wikt:de facto#Adjective|de&nbsp;facto]]'' polygyny referred to as ''[[concubinage]]''.<ref>

The serial monogamy interpretation of genetic history would be congruent with other findings, such as the fact that humans form pair bonds (although not necessarily for life) and that human fathers invest in at least the early upbringing of their children.<ref name="Schacht" /> Serial monogamy would also be consistent with the existence of a "honeymoon period", a period of intense interest in a single sexual partner (with less interest in other women) which may help to keep men invested in staying with the mother of their child for this period.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fletcher |first1=Garth |last2=Simpson |first2=Jeffry |last3=Campbell |first3=Lorne |last4=Overall |first4=Nickola |author-link4=Nickola Overall |date=2015-01-01 |title=Pair-Bonding, Romantic Love, and Evolution: The Curious Case of "Homo sapiens" |journalurl=Perspectives on Psychological Sciencehttps://www.jstor.org/stable/44281912 |date=2015url-01-01 |last1status=Fletcherlive |first1journal=GarthPerspectives |last2=Simpsonon |first2=JeffryPsychological |last3=Campbell |first3=Lorne |last4=Overall |first4=NickolaScience |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=20–36 |doi=10.1177/1745691614561683 |jstor=44281912 |pmid=25910380 |s2cid=16530399 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44281912 |accessdate=2023-06-28 |archive-date=28 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628222331/https://www.jstor.org/stable/44281912 |urlarchive-statusdate=live28 June 2023 |accessdate=2023-06-28}}</ref> When reciprocated, this "honeymoon period" lasts 18 months to three years in most cases.<ref name="Love and Limerence">{{cite book |last=Tennov |first=Dorothy |author-link=Dorothy Tennov |title=Love and Limerence: the Experience of Being in Love |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uPsDAAAACAAJ |access-date=12 March 2011 |year=1999 |publisher=Scarborough House |isbn=978-0-8128-6286-7 |archive-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327220413/https://books.google.com/books?id=uPsDAAAACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Leggett|first1=John C.|last2=Malm|first2=Suzanne|title=The Eighteen Stages of Love: Its Natural History, Fragrance, Celebration and Chase|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2g0RPVk7i1QC&pg=PA27|access-date=12 March 2011|date=March 1995|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-882289-33-2}}</ref> This would correspond to the period necessary to bring a child to relative independence in the traditionally small, interdependent, communal societies of pre-Neolithic humans, before they settled into agricultural communities.<ref name="pmid12962309" />

Most typically, fraternal polyandry is practiced, but sometimes father and son have a common wife, which is a unique family structure in the world. Other forms of marriage are also present, like group marriage and monogamous marriage.<ref name=Zeitzen/> Polyandry (especially fraternal polyandry) is also common among Buddhists in [[Bhutan]], [[Ladakh]], and other parts of the [[Indian subcontinentTibet]].

AlthoughIn the [[New Testament]] is largely silent on the subject of polygamy, some point to Jesus's repetition ofrecalled the earlier [[scriptures]], noting that a man and a wife "shall become one flesh".<ref>{{bibleverse||Genesis|2:24|ESV}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|19:3–6|ESV}}</ref> However, some look to [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]]'s writings to the [[First Epistle to the Corinthians|Corinthians]]: "Do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, 'The two will become one flesh.{{'"}} Supporters of polygamy claim that this verse indicates that the term refers to a physical, rather than a spiritual,{{clarify|date=February 2016}} union.<ref>{{bibleverse||1 Corinthians|6:16|ESV}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Now a bishop must be above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher,<ref>{{bibleref2bibleverse|1 Timothy|3:2|NRSV}}</ref>}} See verse 12 regarding deacons having only one wife. Similar counsel is repeated in the first chapter of the [[Epistle to Titus]].<ref>The Digital [[Nestle-Aland]] lists only one manuscript (P46) as source of the verse, while nine other manuscripts have no such verse, cf. http://nttranscripts.uni-muenster.de/AnaServer?NTtranscripts+0+start.anv {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120530215112/http://nttranscripts.uni-muenster.de/AnaServer?NTtranscripts+0+start.anv |date=30 May 2012 }}</ref>

For a [[Brahmin|Brahmana]], only one wife could rank as the chief consort who performed the religious rites (''dharma-patni'') along with the husband. The chief consort had to be of an equal knowledge. If a man married several women from the same knowledgeable, then the eldest wife held the position of the chief consort.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LnoREHdzxt8C&pg=PA114 |title=Antiquities of India |page=114|isbn=9788171564422 |last1=Barnett |first1=Lionel D. |date=1999-04-30 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist }}</ref> [[Hindu kingsking]]s commonly had more than one wife and are regularly attributed four wives by the scriptures. They were: Mahisi, who was the chief consort, Parivrkti, who had no son, Vaivata, who is considered the favorite wife and the Palagali, who was the daughter of the last of the court officials.<ref name="Vedic"/>

MostLater notable inon, the rabbinicJewish periodcodices onbegan thea issueprocess of restricting polygamy in Judaism. Most notable, though more specifically for [[Ashkenazi Jews]], was the synod of [[Gershom ben Judah|Rabbeinu Gershom]]. About 1000 CE he called a synod which decided the following particulars: (1) prohibition of polygamy; (2) necessity of obtaining the consent of both parties to a divorce; (3) modification of the rules concerning those who became apostates under compulsion; (4) prohibition against opening correspondence addressed to another.<ref>{{cite book | last=Bell | first=Dean Phillip | title=The Routledge Companion to Jewish History and Historiography | date=2019 | isbn=978-0-429-45892-7 |location=Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon | oclc=1055160815}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lapidoth|first=Ruth|date=July 1975|title=Israel Yearbook on Human Rights. Edited by Yoram Dinstein and Nitza Shapiro-Libai. [Published under the auspices of the Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University, vol. I (1971), 464 pp. and vol. II (1972), 391 pp.].|journal=Israel Law Review|volume=10|issue=3|pages=408–412|doi=10.1017/s0021223700005355|s2cid=150208678 |issn=0021-2237}}</ref><ref name="Karras2012"/> Some [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardic Jews]] such as [[Abraham David Taroç]], were known to have several wives.

In the modern day, polygamy is generally not condoned by Jews.<ref>{{cite web |title=Polygamy is rare around the world and mostly confined to a few regions |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/12/07/polygamy-is-rare-around-the-world-and-mostly-confined-to-a-few-regions/ |website=Pew Research Center |date=7 December 2020 |access-date=6 September 2021 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407072545/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/12/07/polygamy-is-rare-around-the-world-and-mostly-confined-to-a-few-regions/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>* {{cite news |last1=Sedley |first1=David |title=In defiance of Israeli law, polygamy sanctioned by top rabbis |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-defiance-of-israeli-law-polygamy-sanctioned-by-top-rabbis/ |work=timesofisrael.com |date=2016 |access-date=6 September 2021 |archive-date=6 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906072425/https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-defiance-of-israeli-law-polygamy-sanctioned-by-top-rabbis/ |url-status=live }}

* {{cite news |last1=Mandel |first1=Jonah |title=New Jewish group wants to restore polygamy |url=https://www.jpost.com/jewish-world/jewish-news/new-jewish-group-wants-to-restore-polygamy |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=2011 |access-date=6 September 2021 |archive-date=6 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906072431/https://www.jpost.com/jewish-world/jewish-news/new-jewish-group-wants-to-restore-polygamy |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Ashkenazi Jews]] have continued to follow [[Rabbenu Gershom]]'s ban since the 11th century.<ref>[http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/04-Observance/section-55.html Judaism and Polygamy:] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512023008/http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/04-Observance/section-55.html |date=12 May 2008 }} "Originally, Gershom's ban was limited in time to the year 1260", and a man "could marry more than one wife if he obtained the special permission of 100 rabbis in 3 countries". From faqs.org</ref> Some [[Mizrahi Jews|Mizrahi]] Jewish communities (particularly [[Yemenite Jews]] and [[Persian Jews]]) discontinued polygyny more recently, after they immigrated to countries where it was forbidden or illegal. [[Israel]] prohibits polygamy by law.<ref>''Penal Law Amendment (Bigamy) Law'', 5719-1959.{{verify source|date=August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=839776|title=The English Law of Bigamy in a Multi-Confessional Society: The Israel Experience|first=P.|last=Shifman|date=29 December 1978|journal=The American Journal of Comparative Law|volume=26|issue=1|pages=79–89|doi=10.2307/839776}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Eglash |first=Ruth |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Israel-2008-State-of-Polygamy |title=Israel 2008: State of Polygamy |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=30 October 2008 |access-date=13 September 2011 |archive-date=27 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727152222/https://www.jpost.com/Israel/Israel-2008-State-of-Polygamy |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Aburabia |first=Sarab |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027756.html |title=Victims of polygamy |work=Haaretz |access-date=13 September 2011 |archive-date=5 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705051731/https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027756.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In practice, however, the law is loosely enforced, primarily to avoid interference with [[Bedouin]] culture, where polygyny is practiced.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027756.html "Victims of polygamy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705051731/https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027756.html |date=5 July 2021 }} [https://web.archive.org/web/20231128083319/https://www.haaretz.com/2008-10-10/ty-article/victims-of-polygamy/0000017f-dbad-df62-a9ff-dfff08da0000 archived], ''Haaretz''</ref> Pre-existing polygynous unions among [[Arab Jews|Jews from Arab countries]] (or other countries where the practice was not prohibited by their tradition and was not illegal) are not subject to this Israeli law. But Mizrahi Jews are not permitted to enter into new polygamous marriages in Israel. However polygamy may still occur in non-European Jewish communities that exist in countries where it is not forbidden, such as Jewish communities in [[Iran]] and [[Morocco]].

Late Sephardic chief rabbi [[Ovadia Yosef]] supported the legalisation by the Israeli government of polygamy and the practice of [[pilegesh]] (the keeping of concubines).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=13900&sec=40&con=35|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080414212442/http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=13900&sec=40&con=35|url-status=dead|title=''Polygamy's Practice Stirs Debate in Israel''|archive-date=14 April 2008|access-date=11 June 2009}}</ref> Tzvi Zohar, a professor from the [[Bar-Ilan University]], recently suggested that based on the opinions of leading [[Halacha|halachic]] authorities, the concept of concubines may serve as a practical halachic justification for premarital or non-marital cohabitation.<ref>{{cite web |last=Navon |first=Emmanuel |url=http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishFeatures/Article.aspx?id=16328 |title=Kosher Sex Without Marriage, a Jerusalem Post article that discusses Jacob Emden's and Tzvi Zohar's views |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=16 March 2006 |access-date=13 September 2011 |archive-date=4 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804232538/http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishFeatures/Article.aspx?id=16328 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://pilegeshpersonals.com/Pilegesh%20Tzvi%20Zohar.pdf |title=Tzvi Zohar's comprehensive academic research on the subject, Akdamot Journal for Jewish Thought 17, 2003, Beit Morasha Press (in Hebrew) |access-date=13 September 2011 |archive-date=24 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110824122329/http://pilegeshpersonals.com/Pilegesh%20Tzvi%20Zohar.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Canada has taken a strong stand against polygamy, and the [[Department of Justice (Canada)|Canadian Department of Justice]] has argued that polygyny is a violation of International Human Rights Law, as a form of gender discrimination.<ref>{{cite web |title=POLYGYNY AS A VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW |url=http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/other-autre/poly/chap3.html |publisher=Department of Justice, Government of Canada |date=2006-07-11 |access-date=22 May 2013 |archive-date=13 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513231102/http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/other-autre/poly/chap3.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In Canada, the federal [[Criminal Code (Canada)|Criminal Code]] applies throughout the country. It extends the definition of polygamy to having any kind of conjugal union with more than one person at the same time. Also anyone who assists, celebrates, or is a part to a rite, ceremony, or contract that sanctions a polygamist relationship is guilty of polygamy. Polygamy is an offence punishable by up to five years in prison.

In 2017, two Canadian religious leaders were found guilty of practicing polygamy by the [[Supreme Court of British Columbia]].<ref name="bbc.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40709250|title=Canadian polygamists found guilty|date=25 July 2017|publisher=BBC News|access-date=20 July 2018|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109041237/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40709250|url-status=live}}</ref> Both of them are former bishops of the Mormon denomination of the [[Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]] (FLDS).<ref name="bbc.com"/>

Prosecutors in Utah have long had a policy of not pursuing polygamy in the absence of other associated crimes (e.g. fraud, abuse, marriage of underage persons, etc.).<ref>{{cite web|title=Brown v. Buhman, No. 14-4117 (10th Cir. 2016)|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca10/14-4117/14-4117-2016-04-11.html|access-date=2021-08-27|website=Justia Law|language=en|archive-date=27 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827051927/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca10/14-4117/14-4117-2016-04-11.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.deseret.com/2011/7/12/20203261/sister-wives-family-to-challenge-utah-bigamy-law |title='Sister Wives' family to challenge Utah bigamy law |newspaper=[[Deseret News]] |date=2011-07-12 |access-date=2022-02-14 |archive-date=27 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127165712/https://www.deseret.com/2011/7/12/20203261/sister-wives-family-to-challenge-utah-bigamy-law |url-status=live }}</ref> There are about 30,000 people living in polygamous communities in Utah.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/polygamists-face-jail-time-utah-bill-68893806|title = Polygamists may not face jail time under new Utah bill|website = [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|access-date = 27 January 2022|archive-date = 27 January 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220127170132/https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/polygamists-face-jail-time-utah-bill-68893806|url-status = live}}</ref>

Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country. Most ofpolygamous thefamilies polygamyin familiesthe comecountry fromare of Muslim family,background; alsothey comemay also frombe aristocrats, registered civil servants, Islamic students (santri), and wholesalers.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://historia.id/kultur/articles/angka-poligami-dari-masa-ke-masa-vgXwV | title=Angka Poligami dari Masa ke Masa | date=25 June 2019 | access-date=24 November 2022 | archive-date=24 November 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124075645/https://historia.id/kultur/articles/angka-poligami-dari-masa-ke-masa-vgXwV | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.kemenpppa.go.id/index.php/page/read/29/3140/poligami-tak-sesuai-syariat-berpotensi-rugikan-perempuan | title=Kementerian Pemberdayaan Perempuan Dan Perlindungan Anak | access-date=24 November 2022 | archive-date=24 November 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124075646/https://www.kemenpppa.go.id/index.php/page/read/29/3140/poligami-tak-sesuai-syariat-berpotensi-rugikan-perempuan | url-status=livedead }}</ref>

Constitutionally, Indonesia (basically) only recognizerecognizes monogamy. But, government allows polygamy in some conditions:

==Nazi Plansplans for Postpost-war Germany==