Polygamy History – When Plural Marriages Were Legal

Although polygamy or marriages where an individual has more than one marital partners is now known by most people as exclusive territory of Islam religion, it appears otherwise in its controversial history.

In Chinese cultures, only one wife was acceptable for Chinese men but there is no limit to how many concubines or mistresses he may take and this has been practiced openly from ancient times till before the formation of the People’s Republic of China.

Statistics report how many Chinese men, including those living in Hong Kong and their other territories, still kept second wives, albeit in a more discreet fashion this time, and in spite of possible legal repercussions.

In Hinduism, polygamy was only evident in ancient times. The establishment of Hindu Marriage Law and religious edicts now forbids followers of Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism to become polygamous.

In Judaism, it is quite ironic how biblical characters like Abraham and Jacob are described as polygamous. During those times, polygamy was not entirely common but it did happen and it was not perceived as something bad. Of course, modern day Judaism do not allow their followers to practice polygamy now.

In Buddhism, there is no actual law that labels polygamy as a violation of any sort, but one of its philosophies does suggest desisting from extra-marital relationships. Its Tibetan branch, however, accepts cases where consorts are taken by an individual if his or her respective partner is unable to participate in spiritual practices. Both parties may have their own consorts. The taking of consort is referred to as consort practice.

In Christianity, St. Augustine sought to explain the changes of laws on polygamy. While he didn’t make any judgment on known polygamists like Abraham, Moses, and Jacob, he did specify that the patriarchs had reasons to do so, all of which were at that time deemed acceptable, such as to increase the number of their population. Lastly, he explained that for today and in keeping with Roman custom, polygamy is no longer considered an acceptable practice.

There were several incidents in Christianity that the non-acceptance of polygamy was reversed. During the Thirty Years’ War, the churches allowed males to marry up to ten women to bulk up the then-shrunken population, provided that they were able to continue behaving in an honorable manner, provide for all their dependents, and prevent their wives from harboring ill will against each other.

And lastly, there is the notorious issue of polygamy in Mormonism. It began when its founder Joseph Smith declared that his dream told him how some men were called to have a “plural marriage”. Polygamy has long been banned, however, and those caught violating are excommunicated.