Editing Polygamy (section)

==Religious attitudes towards polygamy==

===Buddhism===
[[Buddhism]] does not regard marriage as a [[sacrament]]; it is purely a [[secular]] affair.  Normally Buddhist monks do not participate in it (though in some sects priests and monks do marry). Hence marriage receives no religious sanction.<ref name="access to insight">{{cite web |url= http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/dewaraja/wheel280.html |title= Accesstoinsight.org |publisher= Accesstoinsight.org |access-date= 13 September 2011 |archive-date= 18 March 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220318150918/https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/dewaraja/wheel280.html |url-status= live }}</ref> Forms of marriage, in consequence, vary from country to country. The Parabhava [[List of suttas|Sutta]] states that "a man who is not satisfied with one woman and seeks out other women is on the path to decline". Other fragments in the Buddhist scripture seem to treat polygamy unfavorably, leading some authors to conclude that Buddhism generally does not approve of it<ref name="ethics of Buddhism">[https://books.google.com/books?id=URZNk9noWJEC&pg=PA101 The Ethics of Buddhism], Shundō Tachibana, Routledge, 1992, {{ISBN|978-0-7007-0230-5}}</ref> or alternatively regards it as a tolerated, but subordinate, marital model.<ref name="introduction to Buddhist ethics">[https://books.google.com/books?id=URZNk9noWJEC&pg=PA101 An introduction to Buddhist ethics]: foundations, values, and issues, Brian Peter Harvey, Cambridge University Press, 2000, {{ISBN|978-0-521-55640-8}}</ref>

[[Polygamy in Thailand]] was legally recognized until 1935. [[Polygamy in Myanmar]] was outlawed in 2015. In [[Sri Lanka]], polyandry was legal in the kingdom of Kandy, but outlawed by British after conquering the kingdom in 1815.<ref name="access to insight"/> When the Buddhist texts were translated into Chinese, the [[concubine]]s of others were added to the list of inappropriate partners. [[Polyandry in Tibet]] was traditionally common, as was polygyny, and having several wives or husbands was never regarded as having sex with inappropriate partners.<ref name="Berzin2010">{{cite web |url= http://studybuddhism.com/en/tibetan-buddhism/path-to-enlightenment/karma-rebirth/buddhist-sexual-ethics-main-issues |title= Buddhist Sexual Ethics: Main Issues |work= Study Buddhism |first= Alexander |last= Berzin |date= 7 October 2010 |archive-date= 30 January 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160130091910/http://next.berzinarchives.com/tibetan-buddhism/guidelines-for-study/relating-the-teachings-to-personal-relationships/buddhist-sexual-ethics-main-issues |url-status= dead |access-date= 20 June 2016 }}</ref>
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 in [[Tibet]]

===Celtic traditions===
Some pre-Christian [[Celtic paganism|Celtic pagans]] were known to practice polygamy, although the [[Celtic peoples]] wavered between it, [[monogamy]] and [[polyandry]] depending on the time period and the area.<ref name="Markale1986">{{cite book |first=Jean |last=Markale |author-link=Jean Markale |title=Women of the Celts |date=1986 |page=[https://archive.org/details/womenofcelts00mark/page/36 36] |chapter=The Judicial Framework |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4UVc6up1HJUC&pg=PA36 |translator1-first=A. |translator1-last=Mygind |translator2-first=C. |translator2-last=Hauch |translator3-first=P. |translator3-last=Henry |publisher=Inner Traditions |location=Rochester, Vermont |orig-year=1st pub. 1972 ''La Femme Celte'' (in French) |isbn=978-0-89281-150-2 |lccn=86-20128 |oclc=14069840 |ol=2726337M |url=https://archive.org/details/womenofcelts00mark/page/36 }}</ref> In some areas this continued even after Christianization began, for instance the [[Brehon Laws]] of [[Gaelic Ireland]] explicitly allowed for polygamy,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fries |first1=Jan |title=Cauldron of the Gods: A manual of Celtic magick |date=2003 |publisher=Mandrake |location=Oxford |isbn=9781869928612 |page=192}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=McLeod |first1=Neil |editor1-last=Duffy |editor1-first=Seán |title=Medieval Ireland: An encyclopedia |date=2005 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=0-415-94052-4 |pages=42–45 |chapter=Brehon law}}</ref> especially amongst the noble class.<ref>{{cite book |last1=State |first1=Paul F. |title=A brief history of Ireland |date=2009 |publisher=Checkmark Books |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0816075171 |page=17}}</ref> Some modern Celtic pagan religions accept the practice of polygamy to varying degrees,<ref>Fox, Martin and O'Ciarrai, Breandan. "[http://ciarraide.org/sinnsreachd101.html Céard is Sinnsreachd Ann? (What Is Sinnsreachd?)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231001450/http://ciarraide.org/sinnsreachd101.html |date=31 December 2014 }}", ''Tuath na Ciarraide'', 7 March 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2012.</ref> though how widespread the practice is within these religions is unknown.

===Christianity===
{{Main|Polygamy in Christianity}}
Although the [[Old Testament]] describes numerous examples of polygamy among devotees to God, most Christian groups have rejected the practice of polygamy and have upheld [[monogamy]] alone as normative. Nevertheless, some Christians groups in different periods have practiced, or currently do practice, polygamy.<ref name="Nyami2018">{{cite web |last1=Nyami |first1=Faith |title=Cleric: Christian men can marry more than one wife |url=https://www.nation.co.ke/news/-Christian-men-can-marry-more-than-one-wife/1056-4299848-dtv96mz/index.html |publisher=[[Daily Nation]] |access-date=9 October 2019 |language=en |date=11 February 2018 |archive-date=4 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404163551/https://www.nation.co.ke/news/-Christian-men-can-marry-more-than-one-wife/1056-4299848-dtv96mz/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Mamdani2008">{{cite web |last1=Mamdani |first1=Zehra |title=Idaho Evangelical Christian polygamists use Internet to meet potential spouses |url=https://www.deseret.com/2008/2/28/20073463/idaho-evangelical-christian-polygamists-use-internet-to-meet-potential-spouses |publisher=[[Deseret News]] |access-date=9 October 2019 |language=en |date=28 February 2008 |archive-date=25 December 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201225040448/https://www.deseret.com/2008/2/28/20073463/idaho-evangelical-christian-polygamists-use-internet-to-meet-potential-spouses |url-status=live }}</ref> Some Christians actively debate whether the [[New Testament]] or [[Christian ethics]] allows or forbids polygamy.

In the [[New Testament]], Jesus recalled 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> 
Paul stated in one of his letters that "For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does".<ref name="ReferenceA">{{bibleverse||1 Corinthians|7:4|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> Such a claim also contradicts Paul's statement regarding authority other each other's bodies.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Some Christian theologians<ref>{{cite web|last=Wilber|first=David|date=26 August 2021|title=Monogamy: God's Creational Marriage Ideal|url=https://davidwilber.com/articles/monogamy-gods-creational-marriage-ideal|access-date=29 November 2021|archive-date=29 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129215031/https://davidwilber.com/articles/monogamy-gods-creational-marriage-ideal|url-status=live}}</ref> argue that in Matthew 19:3–9 and referring to Genesis 2:24,<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|2:24}}</ref> [[Jesus]] explicitly states a man should have only one wife:
{{blockquote|Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|19:3–9}}</ref>}}

1 Timothy 3:2 states:
{{blockquote|Now a bishop must be above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher,<ref>{{bibleverse|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>

Periodically, Christian reform movements that have sought to rebuild Christian doctrine based on the Bible alone (''[[sola scriptura]]'') have temporarily accepted polygyny as a Biblical practice. For example, during the [[Protestant Reformation]], in a document which was simply referred to as ''"Der Beichtrat"'' (or ''"The Confessional Advice"'' ),<ref>[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_kqyauQISxFEC <!-- quote=Dr. Martin Luthers Briefe, Sendschreiben. --> Letter to Philip of Hesse], 10 December 1539, [[De Wette]]-Seidemann, 6:238–244</ref> [[Martin Luther]] granted the [[Landgrave]] [[Philip of Hesse]], who, for many years, had been living "constantly in a state of [[adultery]] and [[fornication]]",<ref name="Michelet1904">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/lifelutherwritt00luthgoog |title=The Life of Luther Written by Himself |date=1904 |page=[https://archive.org/details/lifelutherwritt00luthgoog/page/n271 251] |chapter=Chapter&nbsp;III: 1536–1545 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/lifelutherwritt00luthgoog#page/n271 |editor-last=Michelet |editor-link=Jules Michelet |translator-first=William |translator-last=Hazlitt |translator-link=William Hazlitt |publisher=[[George Bell and Sons]] |location=London |series=Bohn's Standard Library}}</ref> a dispensation to take a second wife. The double marriage was to be done in secret, however, to avoid public scandal.<ref>[[James Bowling Mozley]] ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ofwE7kEdx6QC&pg=PA403 Essays, Historical and Theological]'' 1:403–404 Excerpts from ''Der Beichtrat''</ref> Some fifteen years earlier, in a letter to the Saxon Chancellor Gregor Brück, Luther stated that he could not "forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture." ("''Ego sane fateor, me non posse prohibere, si quis plures velit uxores ducere, nec repugnat sacris literis.''")<ref>Letter to the Chancellor [[:de:Gregor Brück|Gregor Brück]], 13 January 1524, [[De Wette]] 2:459.</ref>

In [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], tensions have frequently erupted between advocates of the Christian insistence on monogamy and advocates of the traditional practice of polygamy. For instance, [[Mswati III]], the Christian [[List of monarchs of Eswatini|king of Eswatini]], has 15 wives. In some instances in recent times, there have been moves for accommodation; in other instances, churches have strongly resisted such moves. African Independent Churches have sometimes referred to those parts of the [[Old Testament]] that describe polygamy in defense of the practice.

The illegality of polygamy in certain areas creates, according to certain Bible passages, additional arguments against it. [[Paul the Apostle]] writes "submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience" (Romans 13:5), for "the authorities that exist have been established by God." (Romans 13:1) [[St Peter]] concurs when he says to "submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right." (1 Peter 2:13,14) Pro-polygamists argue that, as long as polygamists currently do not obtain legal marriage licenses nor seek "common law marriage status" for additional spouses, no enforced laws are being broken any more than when monogamous couples similarly co-habitate without a marriage license.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblicalpolygamy.com/exegesis/law-of-the-land/|title=Law of the Land – Exegesis – Biblical Polygamy . com|website=biblicalpolygamy.com|access-date=8 July 2005|archive-date=31 August 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050831072406/http://www.biblicalpolygamy.com/exegesis/law-of-the-land/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Roman Catholic Church====
The Roman [[Catholic Church]] condemns polygamy; the ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'' lists it in paragraph 2387 under the head "Other offenses against the dignity of marriage" and states that it "is not in accord with the moral law." Also in paragraph 1645 under the head "The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love" states "The unity of marriage, distinctly recognized by our Lord, is made clear in the equal personal dignity which must be accorded to husband and wife in mutual and unreserved affection. Polygamy is contrary to conjugal love which is undivided and exclusive."<ref>{{cite web
 |first        = Kelvin
 |last         = Ugwu
 |title        = Understanding The Scriptural Teaching on Polygamy
 |url          = https://penshuttle.com/understanding-the-scriptural-teaching-on-polygamy/
 |date         = 28 April 2022
 |publisher    = Pen Shuttle
 |access-date   = 28 April 2022
 |archive-date = 28 April 2022
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20220428183734/https://penshuttle.com/understanding-the-scriptural-teaching-on-polygamy/
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref>

Saint [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] saw a conflict with Old Testament polygamy. He refrained from judging the patriarchs, but did not deduce from their practice the ongoing acceptability of polygyny. On the contrary, he argued that the polygamy of the Fathers, which was tolerated by the Creator because of fertility, was a diversion from His original plan for human marriage. Augustine wrote: "That the good purpose of marriage, however, is better promoted by one husband with one wife, than by a husband with several wives, is shown plainly enough by the very first union of a married pair, which was made by the Divine Being Himself."<ref>[[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume V/On Marriage and Concupiscence/Book I/Chapter 10|''On Marriage and Concupiscence'', I,10]]</ref>

Augustine taught that the reason patriarchs had many wives was not because of fornication, but because they wanted more children. He supported his premise by showing that their marriages, in which husband was the head, were arranged according to the rules of good management: those who are ''in command'' (''quae principantur'') in their society were always singular, while ''subordinates'' (''subiecta'') were multiple. He gave two examples of such relationships: ''dominus-servus'' – master-servant (in older translation: ''slave'') and ''God-soul''. The Bible often equates worshiping multiple gods, i.e. idolatry to fornication.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Marcus |first=Joel |title=Idolatry in the New Testament |journal=Interpretation |date=April 2006 |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=152–164 |doi=10.1177/002096430606000203|s2cid=170288252 }}</ref> Augustine relates to that: "On this account there is no True God of souls, save One: but one soul by means of many false gods may commit fornication, but not be made fruitful."<ref>[[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume III/Moral Treatises of St. Augustin/On the Good of Marriage/Section 20|Augustine, ''On the Good of Marriage'', ch. 20]]; cf. [[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume V/On Marriage and Concupiscence/Book I/Chapter 10|''On Marriage and Concupiscence'', I,10]]</ref>

As tribal populations grew, fertility was no longer a valid justification of polygamy: it "was lawful among the ancient fathers: whether it be lawful now also, I would not hastily pronounce (utrum et nunc fas sit, non temere dixerim). For there is not now necessity of begetting children, as there then was, when, even when wives bear children, it was allowed, in order to a more numerous posterity, to marry other wives in addition, which now is certainly not lawful."<ref>St. Augustin [[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume III/Moral Treatises of St. Augustin/On the Good of Marriage/Section 17|''On the Good of Marriage'', ch.17]]; cf. [[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume V/On Marriage and Concupiscence/Book I/Chapter 9|''On Marriage and Concupiscence'', I,9.8]]</ref>

Augustine saw marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman, which may not be broken. It was the Creator who established monogamy: "Therefore, the first natural bond of human society is man and wife."<ref>[[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume III/Moral Treatises of St. Augustin/On the Good of Marriage/Section 1|''On the Good of Marriage'', ch.1]]</ref> Such marriage was confirmed by the Saviour in the Gospel of Matthew (Mat 19:9) and by His presence at the wedding in Cana (John 2:2).<ref>[[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume III/Moral Treatises of St. Augustin/On the Good of Marriage/Section 3|''On the Good of Marriage'', ch.3]]</ref> In the Church—the City of God—marriage is a sacrament and may not and cannot be dissolved as long as the spouses live: "But a marriage once for all entered upon in the City of our God, where, even from the first union of the two, the man and the woman, marriage bears a certain sacramental character, can in no way be dissolved but by the death of one of them."<ref>[[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume III/Moral Treatises of St. Augustin/On the Good of Marriage/Section 17|''On the Good of Marriage'', 17]]</ref> In chapter 7, Augustine pointed out that the Roman Empire forbad polygamy, even if the reason of fertility would support it: "For it is in a man's power to put away a wife that is barren, and marry one of whom to have children. And yet it is not allowed; and now indeed in our times, and after the usage of Rome (nostris quidem iam temporibus ac more Romano), neither to marry in addition, so as to have more than one wife living." Further on he notices that the Church's attitude goes much further than the secular law regarding monogamy: It forbids remarrying, considering such to be a form of fornication: "And yet, save in the City of our God, in His Holy Mount, the case is not such with the wife. But, that the laws of the Gentiles are otherwise, who is there that knows not."<ref>Augustine, [[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume III/Moral Treatises of St. Augustin/On the Good of Marriage/Section 7|''On the Good of Marriage'', ch. 7]]</ref>

The Council of Trent condemns polygamy: "If anyone saith, that it is lawful for Christians to have several wives at the same time, and that this is not prohibited by any divine law; let him be [[anathema]]."<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/trent/twenty-fourth-session.htm| title = PapalEncyclicals: Council of Trenty, 24th Sessions| date = 11 November 1563| access-date = 14 April 2019| archive-date = 14 April 2019| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190414024049/http://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/trent/twenty-fourth-session.htm| url-status = live}}</ref>

In modern times a minority of Roman Catholic theologians have argued that polygamy, though not ideal, can be a legitimate form of Christian marriage in certain regions, in particular Africa.<ref>"''The Ratzinger report: an exclusive interview on the state of the Church Pope Benedict XVI, Vittorio Messori"'', p.&nbsp;195, Ignatius Press, 1985, {{ISBN|0-89870-080-9}}</ref><ref>"''Morality: The Case for Polygamy",'' Time Magazine, 10 May 1968, [https://web.archive.org/web/20090205142602/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,902227,00.html time.com] and "''Christianity and the African imagination: essays in honour of [[Adrian Hastings]]''", edited by David Maxwell with Ingrid Lawrie, p.&nbsp;345–346, Brill, 2002, {{ISBN|90-04-11668-0}}</ref> The Roman Catholic Church teaches in its Catechism that: <blockquote>
polygamy is not in accord with the moral law. [Conjugal] communion is radically contradicted by polygamy; this, in fact, directly negates the plan of God that was revealed from the beginning, because it is contrary to the equal personal dignity of men and women who in matrimony give themselves with a love that is total and therefore unique and exclusive.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm Catholic Cathechism, para. 2387] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020910104753/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm |date=10 September 2002 }} 5 April 2009, Vatican website</ref></blockquote>

====Lutheran Church====
The [[Lutheran World Federation]] hosted a regional conference in Africa, in which the acceptance of polygamists into full membership by the Lutheran Church in Liberia was defended as being permissible.<ref>{{cite book|last=Deressa|first=Yonas |title=The Ministry of the Whole Person|year=1973|publisher=Gudina Tumsa Foundation|language=en|page=350}}</ref> The Lutheran Church in Liberia, however, does not permit polygamists who have become Christians to marry more wives after they have received the sacrament of [[Baptism|Holy Baptism]].<ref name="KilbridePage2012">{{cite book|last1=Kilbride|first1=Philip Leroy|last2=Page|first2=Douglas R.|title=Plural Marriage for Our Times: A Reinvented Option?|year=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|language=en|isbn=9780313384783|page=188}}</ref> Evangelical Lutheran missionaries in Maasai also tolerate the practice of polygamy and in Southern Sudan, some polygamists are becoming Lutheran Christians.<ref name="Moses2016">{{cite book|last=Mlenga|first=Moses|title=Polygamy in Northern Malawi: A Christian Reassessment|date=13 January 2016|publisher=Mzuni Press|language=en|isbn=9789996045097|pages=41–42}}</ref>

====Anglican Communion====
The 1988 [[Lambeth Conference]] of the [[Anglican Communion]] ruled that polygamy was permissible in certain circumstances:<ref name="Draper2003">{{cite book|last=Draper|first=Jonathan A.|title=The Eye of the Storm: Bishop John William Colenso and the Crisis of Biblical Inspiration|date=1 April 2003|publisher=A&C Black|language=en|isbn=9780826470904|page=304}}</ref>
{{blockquote|The Conference upholds monogamy as God's plan, as the idea of relationship of love between husband and wife; nevertheless recommends that a polygamist who responds to the Gospel and wishes to join the Anglican Church may be baptized and confirmed with his believing wives and children on the following conditions: 
*that the polygamist shall promise not to marry again as long as any of his wives at the time of his conversion are alive; 
*that the receiving of such a polygamist has the consent of the local Anglican community; 
*that such a polygamist shall not be compelled to put away any of his wives on account of the social deprivation they would suffer.<ref name="Draper2003"/>}}

====Latter Day Saint movement====
{{LDSpolygamy}}
{{main|Mormonism and polygamy}}
{{see also|List of Latter Day Saint practitioners of plural marriage}}
In accordance with what Joseph Smith indicated was a revelation, the practice of plural marriage, the marriage of one man to two or more women, was instituted among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early 1840s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/topics/plural-marriage-and-families-in-early-utah?lang=eng&old=true|title=Polygamy (Plural Marriage) {{!}} LDS Church Perspective on Polygamy|website=ChurchofJesusChrist.org|access-date=2017-04-18|archive-date=28 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728085801/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/topics/plural-marriage-and-families-in-early-utah?lang=eng&old=true|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite Smith's revelation, the 1835 edition of the 101st Section of the ''Doctrine and Covenants'', written after the doctrine of plural marriage began to be practiced, publicly condemned polygamy. This scripture was used by [[John Taylor (1808–1887)|John Taylor]] in 1850 to quash Mormon polygamy rumors in [[Liverpool, England]].<ref>Three nights public discussion between the Revds. C. W. Cleeve, James Robertson, and Philip Cater, and Elder John Taylor, Of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, At Boulogne-Sur-Mer, France. Chairman, Rev. K. Groves, M.A., Assisted By Charles Townley, LL.D., and Mr. Luddy. pp.&nbsp;8–9</ref> Polygamy was made illegal in the state of [[Illinois]]<ref>Greiner & Sherman, Revised Laws of Illinois, 1833, pp.&nbsp;198–199</ref> during the 1839–44 [[Nauvoo, Illinois|Nauvoo]] era when several top Mormon leaders, including Smith,<ref name="Compton1996">{{cite journal |first=Todd |last=Compton |author-link=Todd Compton |title=A Trajectory of Plurality: An Overview of Joseph Smith's Thirty‑three Plural Wives |journal=Dialogue |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=1–38 |date=1996 |doi=10.2307/45226184 |jstor=45226184 |s2cid=254388739 |issn=0012-2157 |oclc=929467668 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Smith1994">{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=George D |author-link=George D. Smith |title=Nauvoo Roots of Mormon Polygamy, 1841–46: A Preliminary Demographic Report |journal=Dialogue |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=1–72 |date=1994 |doi=10.2307/45228320 |jstor=45228320 |s2cid=254329894 |issn=0012-2157 |oclc=367616792 |url=https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V34N0102_135.pdf |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-date=13 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013041433/http://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V34N0102_135.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Brigham Young]] and [[Heber C. Kimball]] took multiple wives. Mormon elders who publicly taught that all men were commanded to enter plural marriage were subject to harsh discipline.<ref>[http://www.centerplace.org/history/ts/v5n03.htm Times and Seasons, vol.&nbsp;5, p.&nbsp;423] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807095056/http://www.centerplace.org/history/ts/v5n03.htm |date=7 August 2007 }}, 1 February 1844</ref> On 7 June 1844 the ''[[Nauvoo Expositor]]'' criticized Smith for plural marriage.

=====The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)=====
After [[Death of Joseph Smith|Joseph Smith]] was killed by a mob on 27 June 1844, the main body of Latter Day Saints left Nauvoo and followed Brigham Young to [[Utah]] where the practice of plural marriage continued.<ref>{{cite AV media |url=http://www.mscbc.org/video/vid_lvp.htm |title=Lifting the Veil of Polygamy |year=2007 |publisher=Main Street Church |postscript=, |access-date=11 October 2009 |archive-date=23 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091223034316/http://www.mscbc.org/video/vid_lvp.htm |url-status=live }} a video presentation concerning the history of Mormon polygamy and its modern manifestations.</ref> In 1852, [[Brigham Young]], the second [[President of the Church (LDS Church)|president]] of the LDS Church, publicly acknowledged the practice of plural marriage through a sermon he gave. Additional sermons by top Mormon leaders on the virtues of polygamy followed.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=[[Journal of Discourses]] |volume=11 |pages=119–128 |first=Brigham |last=Young |author-link=Brigham Young |date=18 June 1865 |title=Personality of God – His Attributes – Eternal Life, etc. |url=http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/JournalOfDiscourses3/id/4640 |quote=Since the founding of the Roman empire monogamy has prevailed more extensively than in times previous to that. The founders of that ancient empire were robbers and women stealers, and made laws favoring monogamy in consequence of the scarcity of women among them, and hence this monogamic system which now prevails throughout Christendom, and which had been so fruitful a source of prostitution and whoredom throughout all the Christian monogamic cities of the Old and New World, until rottenness and decay are at the root of their institutions both national and religious. |access-date=24 October 2013 |archive-date=29 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200242/http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/JournalOfDiscourses3/id/4640 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|128}} Controversy followed when polygamy became a social cause, writers began to publish works condemning polygamy. The key plank of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]]'s 1856 [[Party platform|platform]] was "to prohibit in the territories those twin relics of barbarism, polygamy and slavery".<ref>[http://www.ushistory.org/gop/convention_1856.htm GOP Convention of 1856 in Philadelphia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010053517/http://www.ushistory.org/gop/convention_1856.htm |date=10 October 2007 }} from the Independence Hall Association website</ref> In 1862, [[37th United States Congress|Congress]] issued the [[Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act]] which clarified that the practice of polygamy was illegal in all [[Organized incorporated territories of the United States|US territories]]. The LDS Church believed that their religiously based practice of plural marriage was protected by the [[United States Constitution]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment01/05.html |title=Free Exercise Clause – First Amendment |publisher=Caselaw.lp.findlaw.com |access-date=13 September 2011 |archive-date=28 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628192616/http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment01/05.html |url-status=live }}</ref> however, the unanimous 1878 [[U.S. Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] decision ''[[Reynolds v. United States]]'' declared that polygamy was not protected by the Constitution, based on the longstanding legal principle that "laws are made for the government of actions, and while they cannot interfere with mere religious belief and opinions, they may with practices."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=search&court=US&case=/us/98/145.html|title=FindLaw's United States Supreme Court case and opinions.|website=Findlaw|access-date=4 May 2006|archive-date=29 April 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060429103035/http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=search&court=US&case=/us/98/145.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Increasingly harsh anti-polygamy legislation in the US led some Mormons to emigrate to [[Canada]] and [[Mexico]]. In 1890, LDS Church president [[Wilford Woodruff]] issued a public declaration (the [[1890 Manifesto|Manifesto]]) announcing that the LDS Church had discontinued new plural marriages. [[Anti-Mormonism|Anti-Mormon sentiment]] waned, as did opposition to statehood for [[Utah]]. The [[Smoot Hearings]] in 1904, which documented that the LDS Church was still practicing polygamy spurred the LDS Church to issue a [[Second Manifesto]] again claiming that it had ceased performing new plural marriages. By 1910 the LDS Church [[excommunicate]]d those who entered into, or performed, new plural marriages. Even so, many plural husbands and wives continued to cohabit until their deaths in the 1940s and 1950s.<ref name=UHE-Polygamy>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Jessie L. |last=Embry |contribution=Polygamy |contribution-url=http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/p/POLYGAMY.html |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=Allan Kent |year=1994 |title=Utah History Encyclopedia |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |publisher=[[University of Utah Press]] |isbn=978-0874804256 |oclc=30473917 |access-date=30 October 2013 |archive-date=17 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417163937/http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/p/POLYGAMY.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Enforcement of the 1890 Manifesto caused various [[Schism (religion)|splinter groups]] to leave the LDS Church in order to continue the practice of plural marriage.<ref>[http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/polygamy/The_Primer.pdf "The Primer"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070719143759/http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/polygamy/The_Primer.pdf |date=19 July 2007 }} – Helping Victims of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in Polygamous Communities. A joint report from the offices of the Attorneys General of Arizona and Utah. (2006)</ref> Polygamy among these groups persists today in [[Utah]] and neighboring states as well as in the spin-off colonies. Polygamist churches of Mormon origin are often referred to as "[[Mormon fundamentalism|Mormon fundamentalist]]" churches even though they are not parts of the LDS Church. Such fundamentalists often use a purported [[1886 revelation]] to [[John Taylor (1808–1887)|John Taylor]] as the basis for their authority to continue the practice of plural marriage.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mormonfundamentalism.com/NEWFILES/1886RevelationNew.htm |title=An 1886 Revelation to John Taylor |publisher=Mormonfundamentalism.com |access-date=13 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921072222/http://www.mormonfundamentalism.com/NEWFILES/1886RevelationNew.htm |archive-date=21 September 2011 }}</ref> ''[[The Salt Lake Tribune]]'' stated in 2005 that there were as many as 37,000 fundamentalists with less than half of them living in polygamous households.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2925222 |title=LDS splinter groups growing |first=Brooke |last=Adams |date=9 August 2005 |work=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |issn=0746-3502 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113202411/http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2925222 |archive-date=13 January 2014 }}</ref>

On 13 December 2013, US Federal Judge Clark Waddoups ruled in ''[[Brown v. Buhman]]'' that the portions of Utah's anti-polygamy laws which prohibit multiple [[cohabitation]] were unconstitutional, but also allowed Utah to maintain its ban on multiple marriage licenses.<ref name=yyyuhs>{{cite web | url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/191409187/Utah-Polygamy-Decision | title=Utah Polygamy Decision &#124; Mormonism and Polygamy &#124; Polygamy | access-date=8 September 2017 | archive-date=6 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306052340/https://www.scribd.com/doc/191409187/Utah-Polygamy-Decision | url-status=live }}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=December 2013}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Schwartz |first=John |date=14 September 2013 |title=A Law Prohibiting Polygamy is Weakened |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/us/a-utah-law-prohibiting-polygamy-is-weakened.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=13 January 2014 |url-access=limited |archive-date=12 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112161433/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/us/a-utah-law-prohibiting-polygamy-is-weakened.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Mears |first=Bill |date=14 December 2013 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/14/justice/utah-polygamy-law/ |title='Sister Wives' case: Judge strikes down part of Utah polygamy law |publisher=CNN |access-date=13 January 2014 |archive-date=12 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112161550/http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/14/justice/utah-polygamy-law/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Stack |first=Peggy Fletcher |author-link=Peggy Fletcher Stack |date=14 December 2013 |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=57264020&itype=CMSID |title=Laws on Mormon polygamists lead to win for plural marriage |work=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |issn=0746-3502 |access-date=13 January 2014 |archive-date=6 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806062415/http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=57264020&itype=CMSID |url-status=live }}</ref> Unlawful cohabitation, where prosecutors did not need to prove that a marriage ceremony had taken place (only that a couple had lived together), had been the primary tool used to prosecute polygamy in Utah since the 1882 [[Edmunds Act]].<ref name=UHE-Polygamy/>

=====Mormon fundamentalism=====
The [[Council of Friends (Woolley)|Council of Friends]] (also known as the Woolley Group and the Priesthood Council)<ref>''Religious Sects, and Cults That Sprang from Mormonism'' (Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers Central Company, 1942).</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Joseph W. |last=Musser |author-link=Joseph White Musser |title=Factions |journal=Truth |volume=9 |issue=24 |date=September 1943 |pages=94–96}}</ref> was one of the original expressions of [[Mormon fundamentalism]], having its origins in the teachings of [[Lorin C. Woolley]], a dairy farmer excommunicated from the LDS Church in 1924. Several Mormon fundamentalist groups claim lineage through the Council of Friends, including but not limited to, the [[Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints]] (FLDS Church), the [[Apostolic United Brethren]], the [[Centennial Park group]], the [[Latter Day Church of Christ]], and the [[Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]].

=====Community of Christ=====
The [[Community of Christ]], known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church) prior to 2001, has never sanctioned polygamy since its foundation in 1860. [[Joseph Smith&nbsp;III]], the first Prophet-President of the RLDS Church following the reorganization of the Church, was an ardent opponent of the practice of [[plural marriage]] throughout his life. For most of his career, Smith denied that his father had been involved in the practice and insisted that it had originated with Brigham Young. Smith served many missions to the western United States, where he met with and interviewed associates and women claiming to be widows of his father, who attempted to present him with evidence to the contrary. Smith typically responded to such accusations by saying that he was "not positive nor sure that {{bracket|his father}} was innocent",<ref name="Launius1987">{{cite journal |first=Roger D. |last=Launius |author-link=Roger D. Launius |title=Methods and Motives: Joseph Smith&nbsp;III's Opposition to Polygamy, 1860–90 |journal=Dialogue |volume=20 |issue=4 |page=112 |date=1987 |doi=10.2307/45228113 |jstor=45228113 |s2cid=254387866 |issn=0012-2157 |oclc=365871238 |quote=When challenged this way he typically responded .&nbsp;.&nbsp;. 'I am not positive nor sure that he was innocent'. |doi-access=free }}</ref> and that if, indeed, the elder Smith had been involved, it was still a false practice. However, many members of the [[Community of Christ]] and some of the groups that were previously associated with it are not convinced that Joseph Smith practiced plural marriage and they believe that the evidence which indicates that he practiced it is flawed.<ref name="Promeet2013">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://academic.eb.com/EBchecked/topic/498278/Community-of-Christ |title=Community of Christ |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=6 October 2013 |access-date=1 February 2016 |first1=Dutta |last1=Promeet |first2=Yamini |last2=Chauhan |location=London |orig-year=1st&nbsp;pub.&nbsp;14 June 2007 |url-access=subscription |quote=The Community of Christ .&nbsp;.&nbsp;. claims that polygamy was introduced by Brigham&nbsp;Young and his associates and that the revelation on polygamy, which was made public in 1852 by Young in Utah .&nbsp;.&nbsp;. was not in harmony with the original tenets of the church or with the teachings and practices of Smith. |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728085828/https://academic.eb.com/?target=%2Flevels%2Fcollegiate%2Farticle%2FCommunity-of-Christ%2F63220 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.restorationbookstore.org/jsfp-index.htm|title=Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy|website=restorationbookstore.org|access-date=2 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218120109/https://www.islamonline.in/2020/06/polygamy-in-islam.html|archive-date=18 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Hinduism===
The [[Rig Veda|''Rigveda'']] mentions that during the [[Vedic period]], a man could have more than one wife.<ref name="Vedic">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6TVLlPvuMAC&pg=PA478 |title=Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, Volume 1; Volume 5 |page=478|isbn=9788120813328 |last1=MacDonell |first1=Arthur Anthony |last2=Keith |first2=Arthur Berriedale |year=1995 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers }}</ref> The practice is attested in epics like the ''[[Ramayana]]'' and the ''[[Mahabharata]]''. The [[Dharmashastras|''Dharmashastra''s]] permit a man to marry women provided that the first wife agree to marry him.{{Clarification needed|date=June 2023}} Despite its existence, it was most usually practiced by men of higher status. Common people were only allowed a second marriage if the first wife could not bear a son or have some dispute because there is no law for divorce in Hinduism.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch |url-access=registration |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N–Z |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc |page=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch/page/514 514]|isbn=9780823931804 |last1=James g. Lochtefeld |first1=PhD |date=2001-12-15 }}</ref>

According to the ''[[Vishnu Smriti]]'', the number of wives one could have is linked to one's social class, referred to as ''[[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]]'':
{{blockquote|Now a [[Brahmin|Brāhmaṇa]] may take many wives in the direct order of the (four) knowledge;<br />A [[Kshatriya]] means warrior knowledge, three;<br />A [[Vaishya]] means business knowledge, two;<br />A [[Shudra]] means cleaning knowledge, one only<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe07/sbe07026.htm|title=XXIV.|website=sacred-texts.com|access-date=20 January 2015|archive-date=4 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104210715/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe07/sbe07026.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

This linkage of the number of permitted wives to the varna system is also supported by the ''[[Baudhayana]]'' ''Dharmasutra'' and the ''Paraskara Grihyasutra''.<ref name="MMS"/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jqm0c02RMWYC&pg=PA301 |title=The world wakes up to Islam! |page=301|isbn=9788174355904 |last1=Siddiqui |first1=Moid |year=2009 |publisher=Adam Publishers & Distributors }}</ref>

The ''[[Apastamba]] Dharmasutra'' and the ''[[Manusmriti]]'' allow marriage to a second wife if the first one is unable to discharge her religious duties or is unable to bear a child or have any dispute because in Hinduism there was no law for divorce.<ref name="MMS">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O-00Ip4W1BUC&pg=PA40 |title=Life in North-eastern India in Pre-Mauryan times |pages=39–40|last1=Singh |first1=Madan Mohan |year=1967 }}</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 king]]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"/>

Traditional Hindu law allowed polygamy if the first wife could not bear a child.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HGV3noHZ1QMC&pg=PA153 |title=Religion and Personal law in secular India: A call to judgment |page=153|isbn=978-0253214805 |last1=Larson |first1=Gerald James |year=2001 |publisher=Indiana University Press }}</ref>

The [[Hindu Marriage Act]] was enacted in 1955 by the [[Indian Parliament]] and made polygamy illegal for everyone in India except for Muslims. Prior to 1955, polygamy was permitted for Hindus. Marriage laws in India are dependent upon the religion of the parties in question.<ref>[http://www.sudhirlaw.com/Marriages.html Marriages-Divorces] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050901081957/http://www.sudhirlaw.com/Marriages.html |date=1 September 2005 }} section at general information website on Indian laws by Sudhir Shah and Associates</ref>

Some Hindus in [[Indonesia]] practice [[Polygamy in Indonesia|polygamy]].<ref name="Martyn">{{cite book
| title = The Women's Movement in Postcolonial Indonesia: Gender and Nation in a New Democracy
| first = Elizabeth | last = Martyn
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CQh_AgAAQBAJ&q=balinese+polygamy&pg=PA263
| page = 178, 184
| publisher = Routledge | year = 2004
| isbn = 9781134394708
}}</ref>  

===Islam===
{{Main|Polygyny in Islam}}
In [[Islamic marital jurisprudence]], under warranted conditions, a Muslim man may have [[Polygyny|more than one wife]] at the same time, up to a total of four. Muslim women are not permitted to have [[Polyandry|more than one husband]] at the same time under any circumstances.

Based on verse 30:21 of [[Quran]] the ideal relationship is the comfort that a couple find in each other's embrace:
{{blockquote|And one of His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves so that you may find comfort in them. And He has placed between you compassion and mercy. Surely in this are signs for people who reflect.|{{qref|30|21|c=y}}}}

The polygyny that is allowed in the Quran is for special situations. There are strict requirements to marrying more than one woman, as the man must treat them fairly financially and in terms of support given to each wife, according to Islamic law. However, Islam advises monogamy for a man if he fears he cannot deal justly with his wives. This is based on verse 4:3 of [[Quran]] which says:

{{blockquote|If you fear you might fail to give orphan women their ˹due˺ rights ˹if you were to marry them˺, then marry other women of your choice—two, three, or four. But if you are afraid you will fail to maintain justice, then ˹content yourselves with˺ one or those ˹bondwomen˺ in your possession. This way you are less likely to commit injustice.|{{qref|4|3|c=y}}}}

Muslim women are not allowed to marry more than one husband at once. However, in the case of a [[divorce]] or their husbands' death they can remarry after the completion of [[Iddah]], as divorce is legal in Islamic law. A non-Muslim woman who flees from her non-Muslim husband and accepts [[Islam]] has the option to remarry without divorce from her previous husband, as her marriage with non-Muslim husband is Islamically dissolved on her fleeing.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Çiğdem|first=Recep|date=March 2015|title=Interfaith marriage in comparative perspective|journal=Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae|language=en|volume=68|issue=1|pages=59–86|doi=10.1556/AOrient.68.2015.1.4|issn=0001-6446|url=http://real.mtak.hu/37242/1/aorient.68.2015.1.4.pdf|access-date=26 August 2020|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112031756/http://real.mtak.hu/37242/1/aorient.68.2015.1.4.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> A non-Muslim woman captured during war by Muslims, can also remarry, as her marriage with her non-Muslim husband is Islamically dissolved at capture by Muslim soldiers.<ref>[[Thomas Hughes]] (1855), ''Dictionary of Islam'', p.59.</ref><ref>[[David Samuel Margoliouth]] (1905), ''Mohammed and the Rise of Islam'', p.407, p.461.</ref> This permission is given to such women in verse 4:24 of Quran. The verse also emphasizes on transparency, mutual agreement and financial compensation as prerequisites for matrimonial relationship as opposed to prostitution; it says:
{{blockquote|Also ˹forbidden are˺ married women—except ˹female˺ captives in your possession. This is Allah's commandment to you. Lawful to you are all beyond these—as long as you seek them with your wealth in a legal marriage, not in fornication. Give those you have consummated marriage with their due dowries. It is permissible to be mutually gracious regarding the set dowry. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.|{{qref|4|24 |c=y}}}}

[[Muhammad]] was monogamously married to [[Khadija bint Khuwaylid|Khadija]], his first wife, for 25 years, until she died. After her death, he married multiple women. Muhammad had a total of 9 wives at the same time, even though Muslim men were limited to 4 wives. His total wives are 11.

One reason cited for polygyny is that it allows a man to give financial protection to multiple women, who might otherwise not have any support (e.g. widows).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.islamweb.net/ver2/fatwa/ShowFatwa.php?lang=A&Id=18444&Option=FatwaId |title=IslamWeb |publisher=IslamWeb |date=7 February 2002 |access-date=13 September 2011 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728085755/https://www.islamweb.net/ar/fatwa/18444/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, some Islamic scholars say the wife can set a condition, in the [[nikah|marriage contract]], that the husband cannot marry another woman during their marriage. In such a case, the husband cannot marry another woman as long as he is married to his wife. However, other Islamic scholars state that this condition is not allowed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ahlalhdeeth.com/vb/showthread.php?t=165257 |title=ahlalhdeeth |publisher=ahlalhdeeth |date=12 September 2013 |access-date=13 September 2011 |archive-date=14 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214201552/http://www.ahlalhdeeth.com/vb/showthread.php?t=165257 |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to traditional Islamic law, each of those wives keeps their property and assets separate; and are paid [[Mahr]] separately by their husband. Usually the wives have little to no contact with each other and lead separate, individual lives in their own houses, and sometimes in different cities, though they all share the same husband.

In most Muslim-majority countries, polygyny is legal with [[Kuwait]] being the only one where no restrictions are imposed on it. The practice is illegal in Muslim-majority [[Turkey]], [[Tunisia]], [[Albania]], [[Kosovo]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Brunei]], [[Sierra Leone]], [[Guinea]],
[[Kazakhstan]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[Kyrgyzstan ]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XHF8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PT230|title=Women, Islam and Everyday Life: Renegotiating Polygamy in Indonesia|first=Nina|last=Nurmila|date=10 June 2009|publisher=Routledge|via=Google Books|isbn=9781134033706}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thinkafricapress.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fthinkafricapress.com%2Ftunisia%2Ffuture-state-feminism#2848 |title=Tunisia: Protecting Ben Ali's Feminist Legacy |author=Maike Voorhoeve |publisher=[[Think Africa Press]] |date=31 January 2013 |access-date=23 January 2015 |archive-date=23 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123221720/http://www.thinkafricapress.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fthinkafricapress.com%2Ftunisia%2Ffuture-state-feminism#2848 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=njPYSxcBV-EC&pg=PA272|title=Social Assessment and Agricultural Reform in Central Asia and Turkey|first1=Ay?e|last1=Kudat|first2=Stan|last2=Peabody|first3=Ça?lar|last3=Keyder|date=29 December 2017|publisher=World Bank Publications|via=Google Books|isbn=9780821346785}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.un.org/press/fr/2007/FEM1625.doc.htm|title= LES EXPERTS DU CEDAW S'INQUIÈTENT DE LA PERSISTANCE DE STÉRÉOTYPES SEXISTES ET DE LA SITUATION DES MINORITÉS EN SERBIE|publisher= [[United Nations]]|date= 16 May 2007|access-date= 3 February 2016|archive-date= 24 June 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170624231342/http://www.un.org/press/fr/2007/FEM1625.doc.htm|url-status= live}}</ref>

Countries that allow polygyny typically also require a man to obtain permission from his previous wives before marrying another, and require the man to prove that he can financially support multiple wives. In some Muslim countries, a man must justify taking an additional wife at a court hearing before he is allowed to do so.<ref name="Modern">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n4Eye4ilLVkC&pg=PA35 |title=Modern Muslim societies |page=35 |isbn=978-0-7614-7927-7 |date=2010|last1=Reference |first1=Marshall Cavendish |publisher=Marshall Cavendish }}</ref> In Sudan, the government encouraged polygyny in 2001 to increase the population.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1493309.stm |title=Omar Hassan al-Bashir, has urged Sudanese men to take more than one wife, claiming that this would the population |publisher=BBC News |date=15 August 2001 |access-date=13 September 2011 |archive-date=15 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215083609/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1493309.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Judaism===
{{See also|Pilegesh|Polygyny#Judaism}}

Polygyny is not forbidden in the [[Hebrew Bible]], and over 40 important figures had more than one wife, such as [[Jacob]],<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|31:17|HE}}</ref> [[Solomon]],<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Kings|11:1–3|HE}}</ref> and possibly [[Moses]].{{efn|In {{bibleverse|Exodus|2:21|HE}} Moses married Zipporah, while in {{bibleverse|Numbers|12:1|HE}} he was married to the "Cushite" or "Ethiopian" woman, who may have been a different woman, though some commentators assert that the Cushite woman was Zipporah.<ref>{{cite book | first1=Alice | last1=Ogden Bellis | editor-last1=Meyers | editor-first1=Carol | editor-last2=Craven | editor-first2=Toni | editor-last3=Kraemer | editor-first3=Ross S. | title=Women in Scripture: A Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books and the New Testament | publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | year=2000 | isbn=978-0-547-34558-1 | chapter=Cushite Woman, Wife of Moses | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6txrDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT381 | access-date=23 November 2023 | page=381}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | first1=R. | last1=Laird Harris | editor-last1=Brand | editor-first1=Chad | editor-last2=Mitchell | editor-first2=Eric | editor3=Holman Reference Editorial Staff | title=Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary | publisher=B&H Publishing Group | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-8054-9935-3 | chapter=Aaron | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jgxCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 | access-date=23 November 2023 | page=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Kugel | first=James L. | title=Traditions of the Bible: A Guide to the Bible As It Was at the Start of the Common Era | publisher=Harvard University Press | year=2009 | isbn=978-0-674-03976-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y8AjDrIkBG4C&pg=PA532 | access-date=23 November 2023 | page=532}}</ref>}} However, the [[Torah]] contains a few specific regulations that apply to polygamy,<ref name="Coogan2010">{{cite book |last=Coogan |first=Michael |title=God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says |edition=1st |date=October 2010 |publisher=Twelve. Hachette Book Group |location=New York, Boston |isbn=978-0-446-54525-9 |oclc=505927356 |page=[https://archive.org/details/godsexwhatbi00coog/page/79 79] |url=https://archive.org/details/godsexwhatbi00coog/page/79 }}</ref> such as {{Bibleverse|Exodus|21:10|HE}} ("If he take another wife for himself; her food, her clothing, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish"),<ref name="TJBEX2110">''The Jerusalem Bible: The Holy Scriptures''. Ed. [[Harold Fisch]]. Trans. Fisch. Jerusalem: Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 1980.</ref> {{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|21:15–17|HE}} (a man must award the inheritance due to a first-born son to the son who was actually born first, even if he hates that son's mother and likes another wife more), and {{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|17:17|HE}} (the king shall not have too many wives). Polygyny was still practiced well into the biblical period, and it is attested among Jews as late as the [[second century&nbsp;CE]].<ref name=coogan>{{cite book |last=Coogan |first=Michael |title=God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says |edition=1st |date=October 2010 |publisher=Twelve. Hachette Book Group |location=New York, Boston |isbn=978-0-446-54525-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/godsexwhatbi00coog/page/78 78] |url=https://archive.org/details/godsexwhatbi00coog/page/78 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Metzger |editor1-first=Bruce M. |editor2-last=Coogan |editor2-first=Michael D. |title=The Oxford Guide to Ideas & Issues of the Bible |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-514917-3 |page=339 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aml3tEWoOVEC&pg=PA339 |quote=polygamy was accepted and practiced throughout Israel's history, although to what extent we cannot be sure, since the sources for the most part are derived from and describe the elite ruling and upper classes. |access-date=23 March 2023 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404083836/https://books.google.com/books?id=aml3tEWoOVEC&pg=PA339 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Karras2012">{{cite book |last1=Karras |first1=Ruth Mazo |title=Unmarriages: Women, Men, and Sexual Unions in the Middle Ages |date=2012 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-0641-8 |page=14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZQZh9r2yU0C&pg=PA14 |quote=In the Second Temple period in Palestine, plural marriage seems to have become less common than earlier, although it was not formally outlawed and was more common in Babylonia. It still appeared in the Talmud and was practiced occasionally in early medieval Europe. Gershom Me'or ha-Golah (the Light of the Exile), an eleventh- century German rabbi, possibly under Christian influence, eventually forbade it. |access-date=23 March 2023 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405032706/https://books.google.com/books?id=MZQZh9r2yU0C&pg=PA14 |url-status=live }}</ref> The incidence was limited, however, and it was likely largely restricted to the wealthy.<ref>du Plessis, I. (1998). "The social and economic life of the Jewish people in Palestine in the time of the New Testament", In A. du Toit (ed.). Vol. 2: ''The New Testament Milieu'' (A. du Toit, ed.). Guide to the New Testament. Halfway House: Orion Publishers.</ref><ref name="TDONT γυνή">Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964– (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, ed.) (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. Entry on ''γυνή''</ref><ref>Gene McAfee [http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t120.e0669 "Sex"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728085805/http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t120.e0669 |date=28 July 2020 }} The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, eds. Oxford University Press 1993. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. 19 March 2010.</ref>

The [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] show that several smaller [[Second Temple Judaism#Jewish sects|Jewish sects]] forbade polygamy before and during the first century.<ref name="Vermès1975">{{cite book|last=Vermès|first=Géza |author-link=Géza Vermès|title=Post-Biblical Jewish Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BcYUAAAAIAAJ|year=1975|publisher=Brill|isbn=90-04-04160-5 |page=76}}</ref><ref name="Brooke2005">{{cite book|last=Brooke|first=George J. |title=The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t7TSr36vVkEC|year=2005|publisher=Fortress Press|isbn=978-1-4514-0844-7 |pages=4, 100–101}}</ref><ref name="Murphy2002">{{cite book|last=Murphy|first=Catherine M. |title=Wealth in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Qumran Community |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUPIG-TEKR8C&pg=PA380|year=2002|publisher=Brill|isbn=90-04-11934-5|page=380}}</ref> The [[Temple Scroll]] (11QT LVII 17–18) seems to prohibit polygamy.<ref name="Brooke2005" /><ref name="Loader2009">{{cite book|last=Loader|first=William |title=The Dead Sea Scrolls on Sexuality: Attitudes Towards Sexuality in Sectarian and Related Literature at Qumran|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9gVjAdUx-cIC&pg=PA45|year=2009|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |isbn=978-0-8028-6391-1|page=45}}</ref> The rabbinical era, beginning with the [[destruction of the Second Temple]] in 70 CE, saw a continuation of some degree of legal acceptance for polygamy. Statements in the [[Talmud]] include, "[If a man declares,] 'Be thou betrothed to half of me,' she is betrothed; 'Half of thee be betrothed to me,' she is not betrothed"<ref name="BTK7a">[[Babylonian Talmud]], [https://www.sefaria.org/Kiddushin.7a.11 Kiddushin 7a]</ref> and elsewhere, "A man may marry wives in addition to the first wife; provided only that he possesses the means to maintain them",<ref name="BTY65a">Babylonian Talmud, [https://www.sefaria.org/Yevamot.65a.7 Yevamot 65a]; compare to {{Bibleverse|Exodus|21:10|HE}}</ref> though another opinion in the Talmud requires divorcing a first wife before taking a second.<ref name=BTY65a/> In practice, polygamy was extremely rare in Jewish society in the Talmudic period.<ref>[[Avraham Grossman]], ''Hasidot umordot: Nashim yehudiyot be-europa biymey habeinayim'', p. 119</ref>

Later on, the Jewish codices began a process of restricting polygamy in Judaism. Most notable was the [[synod]] of [[Gershom ben Judah|Rabbeinu Gershom]], whose rulings were accepted by [[Ashkenazi Jews]]. About 1000 CE he called a synod which instituted the following new laws: (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"/> Gershon left an exception to his ban on polygamy, called [[heter meah rabbanim]], by which a man separated from his wife - but unable to officially divorce her due to certain extreme circumstances - could instead take a second wife.

Rabbeinu Gershom's ban on polygamy was not adopted by [[Sephardic Jews|Sephardic]] communities. Some later Sephardic Jews such as [[Abraham David Taroç]] are known to have multiple wives. Polygamy was common among Jewish communities in the Levant, possibly due to the influence of Muslim society, with 17% of divorce claims by women being due to complaints over husbands taking additional wives.  According to R. [[Joseph Karo]] (16th century author of the last great codification of Jewish law, the [[Shulchan Aruch|''Shulchan Aruch'']]), and many other rabbis from [[Safed]], the ban of Rabbeinu Gershom had expired, and therefore even [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazim]] could marry additional wives. Even in instances where the husband made prenuptial agreements not to marry additional wives, local rabbis found loopholes to allow them to do so anyway.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lamdan |first1=Ruth |title=Levant: Women in the Jewish Communities after the Ottoman Conquest of 1517 |url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/levant-women-in-jewish-communities-after-ottoman-conquest-of-1517 |website=Jewish Women's Archive |access-date=6 September 2021 |archive-date=15 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515120849/https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/levant-women-in-jewish-communities-after-ottoman-conquest-of-1517 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lamdān |first1=Rût |title=A Separate People: Jewish Women in Palestine, Syria, and Egypt in the Sixteenth Century |date=2000 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-11747-1 |pages=139–157 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OKlYce7f8iAC&pg=PA139 |access-date=23 March 2023 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404115524/https://books.google.com/books?id=OKlYce7f8iAC&pg=PA139 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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=Rosenberg |first1=David |title=Polygamous cult uncovered |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/221373 |work=Israel National News |date=2016 |access-date=6 September 2021 |archive-date=6 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906072429/https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/221373 |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 Rabbeinu 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>and Mizrahi Jews are not permitted to enter into new polygamous marriages in Israel, though existing marriages may be maintained. 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> Polygamy may still occur in non-European Jewish communities that exist in countries where it is not forbidden, such as Jewish communities in Iran or 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>

[[Karaite Judaism]] has no rules against polygyny, though the practice itself in modern times is rare, and is not found at all among Karaites living in countries where polygamy is against the law. The husband, however, is only allowed to take other wives if he has the means and ability to treat them equally to the primary wife, and even then only if there was no anti-polygamy clause in their marriage contract from either party. Polyandry, on the other hand, is expressly forbidden.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Olszowy-Schlanger |first=Judith |title=Karaite Women |url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/karaite-women |quote=While the marriage of a woman to more than one man at a time is forbidden, a Karaite man could in principle have more than one wife provided he could fulfill all his duties towards both women. However, the right of the husband to take a second wife could be restricted through the inclusion of a special anti-polygamy clause in the betrothal or marriage contract. |access-date=7 February 2024}}</ref>

===Zoroastrianism===
{{See also|Xwedodah}}
There is limited information about polygamy in Zoroastrian tradition. There is no passage in the [[Avesta]] that favors polygamy or [[monogamy]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sanjana|first=Darab Datsur Peshotan|title=The Position of Zoroastrian Women in Remote Antiquity|year=1982|location=Bombay|pages=40–43}}</ref> However, tradition holds that [[Zoroaster]] had three wives.<ref>{{cite book | last=West | first=M. L. | title=The Hymns of Zoroaster: a New Translation of the Most Ancient Sacred Texts of Iran. | publisher=I.B. Tauris | isbn=978-1-84885-505-2 | url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/816830360 | date=2010 | others=With Introduction and Commentary by M.L. West. | oclc=816830360 | access-date=27 January 2021 | archive-date=15 April 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415020553/https://www.worldcat.org/title/hymns-of-zoroaster-a-new-translation-of-the-most-ancient-sacred-texts-of-iran/oclc/816830360 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Boyce, Mary.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/33664728|title=A history of Zoroastrianism|date=1996|publisher=E.J. Brill|isbn=90-04-10474-7|edition=3rd impression, with corrections|location=Leiden|oclc=33664728|access-date=27 January 2021|archive-date=5 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205220523/https://www.worldcat.org/title/history-of-zoroastrianism/oclc/33664728|url-status=live}}</ref> Polygamy appears to have been a right of spiritual dignitaries and aristocrats.<ref>{{cite web|date=2012-01-24|title=Family Law|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/family-law#i|access-date=2021-01-27|website=iranicaonline.org|archive-date=30 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130053945/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/family-law#i|url-status=live}}</ref> It is mentioned in foreign writings, such as the [[letter of Tansar]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Boyce|first=Mary|url=https://archive.org/details/TheLetterOfTansarTranslatedByMaryBoyce|title=The Letter of Tansar}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=For those who were the most virtuous and pious, he chose out princesses, that all might desire virtue and chastity. He was content with one or two wives for himself, and disapproved of having many children, saying: to have many children is fitting for the populace, but kings and nobles take pride in the smallness of their families|author=Tansar|title=|source=}}

It was also written about in the 4th century CE by the Roman soldier and historian [[Ammianus Marcellinus]], writing about Zoroastrian communities.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ammianus Marcellinus|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Ammian/23*.html|access-date=2021-01-27|website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=Each man according to his means contracts many or few marriages, whence their affection, divided as it is among various objects, grows cold.|author=Ammianus Marcellinus|title=|source=}}