Polygamy.Christians are unique in
their practice of monogamy,since most
cultures throughout history have
practicedpolygamy,whichismarriageto
multiplespouses.Therearetwotypesof
polygamy:polygyny(onemanmarriedto
morethanonewife),andpolyandry(one
womanmarriedtomorethanonehusband).
PolygynyiscommoninIslamiccultures.
Islamistheonlyreligiontoofficially
authorizepolygamy,astheMormonChurch
officiallydenouncedthepracticein
(AreMormonsStill,2001).InNigeria,for
example,anationalfertilitystudyrevealed
nearly40%ofmarriagesarepolygynous
(Makinwa-Adebusoye,2001).Such
marriagesarecommoninculturesinwhich
womenarenotallowedaccesstotheirown
economicresources.Theshortageofeligiblemalesleadstotherationalethatwomenmust
“share”ahusbandinordertosurvive
economically.Polygynyisseentooffer
fertilityadvantagesaswell.Ifawarorfamine
resultsinthedeathsofmanymales,aculture
mayjustifyitsneedtopopulatequickly.The
practiceofpolygynywouldmakefulluseof
allavailablewomenofchildbearingage.
Polyandry is a much less common
marital arrangement.In most cultures,the
male is considered dominant and will not
allow his wife to have other husbands.
Tibetan Buddhists sometimes practice
polyandry.For them,biological brothers
may pool their money in order to support
one wife (Knox & Schacht,1999).Such an
arrangement is rationalized for its
economic advantages and as a way to slow
population growth.
Serial Monogamy.In theUnitedStates,
serialmonogamyhasbecomeprevalent,
dueprimarily totheincreasein cohabiting
couplesandtherisingdivorcerate.Serial
monogamy isa sequenceof spousesor
partners,oneat a time,over a periodof
time.It hasbecomeincreasingly acceptable
in society—although not in thechurch—
for both men andwomen tohavea series
of monogamouspartnersthroughout their
lifetimes,which may or may not include
marriage.Breakupsof theseunmarried
relationshipscan havethesame
consequencesasdivorce,especially for
children.
Common-Law Marriage.In the
United States,common-law marriageChapter 11953 Mormon family after the husband was
arrested on charges of polygamy.JoernGerdts/HultonArchive/GettyImages