How do you feel about consenting adults engaged in polygamy?

Question

Why should they not have the freedom to decide if they are accepting of this lifestyle? Why is this a decision of society and not of the individuals involved? Are you influenced solely by your religious beliefs as to why this is inappropriate?

Eric Putkowhatever: What a flawed argument. It is not something that I would have expected from someone I had thought to be an intellectual.

Incest and Beastiality have absolutely nothing to do with the joining of multiple consenting human beings. Just because you're blinded by ancient dogmas, don't think you can impose them on the rest of the world.

Johanna: My question specifically states consenting adults.

Humanist Mom: There's no discrimination in my question.

Ana: You should read the details, I've addressed both Incest and Beastiality. How would beastiality be consenting adults? How would pedophilia be a consenting adult? The religious rite you follow is an abomination, and uses its manipulation to control the weak minded such as yourself. Allowing HUMANS the right to JOIN as the wish, does not advocate the JOINING with beings incapable of consent.

Answer 1

If all of the involved is comfortable with it, let them be. Its not my life, its theres.

Answer 2

I don't have a problem with it, though I couldn't do it myself... I'm waaaay too possessive for that. I'm not sure why it is a decision of society as a whole. But it most likely came about in the same way that this whole homosexual marriage issue came about. Some people just didn't like it, claimed it was against the Bible (which is funny considering all the Old Test people had multiple wives.... some even putting themselves into slavery to get them) and then voted that it should be a "secular" law.
As a Pagan, my religious beliefs do not touch on this subject in a way that mainstream religions do. Many ancient Pagan cultures allowed this... it's what kept their bloodlines alive.

They always try to link things like this with things that most people look down on, in hopes that people will just follow suit. Incest and beastiality have NOTHING to do with having multiple spouses (since when did animals become considered SPOUSES - makes me wonder what some of these people have been up to... maybe they're related to Caligula, the Roman Emporer who married his horse then put it on the Senate? It would explain how Bush got into office)

Answer 3

It's a touchy subject, isn't it?

Personally, polygamy isn't for me, but I can certainly see the advantages of such a relationship.

So many of you have it all wrong in that you think it's a perversion. I believe (any Morman fudamentalists are welcome to correct me if I'm wrong) that the man takes on as many wives as he can be responsible for the purpose of procreation and child rearing. I don't have a problem with people that believe that way and choose to live that way, as long as the man is being a man and living up to his responsibilities for his family in the eyes of the Lord....ie: not cheating the government through welfare fraud and scams. Taking care of the family means just that, providing for them all emotionally and financially, not driving them down to the welfare office.

Honestly, what consenting adults do (I'm not talking about 12 year old kids here, folks....I'm talking ADULTS!) is between them. It doesn't even begin to be in the same category as beastiality or pedophilia, and incest is a different category all in itself.

If you're going to argue a point, at least be informed enough to make an intellegent argument.

Answer 4

If you're talking about legal polygamy , at some point it has to become impractical to do.
Man has 3 legal wives A ,B & C.
Wife C want's a divorce and she wants 50% of the marital assets including the ones that wives A & B helped acquire .
Why shoudn't she get the 50% that would normally be hers ?
Wife B see's the writing on the wall and she files for divorce except that in this case she will only be able to get 50% what Wife C left . Wife A decides the whole thing isn't worth it and stays married.
The net result would be a flurry of lawsuits by the multiple wives to get the rights and priveleges that would be theirs if they were not in a polygamous relationship.
The list goes on and gets into things like child custody , the rights of inheritance, the right to make medical decisions for your spouse .
There will come a time when out of sheer necessity one wife will have to become more equal than the others in order to handle things like medical decisions.
While the people in the relationship might agree to it , the law would never allow the creation of a sub-class of wives.
The only time the law allows the legal creation of a sub-class of people is when they are called " guest workers "

Answer 5

I see no problem with it as long as everyone freely consents. I believe the law says you can not marry multiple spouses. Most people who are in relationships with multiple partners do not marry so legally it is no different then living with boyfriend/girlfriend. If the relationships produce more children then can be supported then it is not a good situation. Many time society tries to influence these types of situations because of lack of knowledge, but mostly it is because of religious pressure. No religion does not influence my view on this lifestyle.

Answer 6

If the parties involved are ok with it and they are sure they can build a good life together, then I see nothing wrong with it and I think the Gov't and Society should mind their own business.
There are alot of things to take into consideration when deciding on polygamy, and if all parties can agree on boundaries and family dynamics then many blessings on them.
I had Mormon friends growing up and there were two wives in the family. They were very happy together and it worked well for them. Granted they had their problems like everyone else, but they were very dedicated to each other and worked hard to ensure that everyone was happy and well taken care of.

Answer 7

umm...good question.

If I was going by my religious beliefs I would have to say no. The bible pretty much says that is not allowed.

If I was going by the law I would say no because the law says so.

If I was going by biology (looking at this from an animalistic perspective putting everything else aside) I would say yes...because most animals (there are a few exceptions) do not mate for life so having multiple partners would not be a crazy idea.

While polygamy is not for me I believe that if consenting adults are happy with polygamy then let them go for it. Far as religion goes that is between them and god. It is not for us to judge.

Answer 8

I can't get into my head why people think this is a desireable situation. I can't see anything except brainwashing making this cognitively acceptable.

Any woman who accepts being one of a number of wives has absolutely zero self-esteem or self-worth and is in need of serious therapy.

Regarding the legality of it, though, I think you'd have to arrange it so all spouses are marrying each other, ie, the wives are as married as the husbands, and could, for example, divorce him and stay married themselves. In other words, all the adults MUST be equal to each other under the law. There could not legally be a ruling party in a multiple marriage.

This gets weird though and I'd have to think about whether it'd be something I'd vote for. I don't know how you'd legally navigate such a thing.

Answer 9

There are dozens of legitimate reasons for polygamy. In the Old Testament, if a married man dies , his brother is commanded to marry the wife, take care of her, and meet her needs. Also, divorced women with children may feel that they need a husband to give the children a well-rounded lifestyle, and a married man with children may be a good candidate. It is a part of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, whether some people of those faiths choose to deny it or not, all they have to do is read their Book to see.

Answer 10

I simply do not care for polygamy in that it suggests that the subservient spouses are devalued and treated as property for the man. Religiously, I have no problem with it. The social implications for it though are so detrimental to gender equality, and so frequently creates an environment that breeds abuse and exploitation of the wives (including marrying underage girls) that I am glad that our government does not condone it.

Answer 11

incest, beastiality, and especially homosexuality (shame on you) have nothing to do with this question.

i would be interested to hear from mormons on this subject, as it pertains to their belief system and the laws that prohibit polygamy.

i don't see how polygamy/polyandry or any romantic arrangement of individuals and how they define themselves and their partners is any of my business, honestly.

something in me immediately feels off because i associate polygamy with a very unbalanced structure between men and women. it brings to mind exploitation and oppression. however, i am wise enough to know not to make these generalizations and fears/concerns the priority when forming an opinion.

the legal mess seems unavoidable -- i can't imagine how the rights of individuals could be upheld and protected in this situation. but who am i??

peace to everyone regardless of genital configuration, chromosomal makeup, political persuasion, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation, and so forth.