Editing Polygyny (section)

===Christianity===
{{Main|Polygamy in Christianity}}
Polygamy is not forbidden in the [[Old Testament]]. The [[New Testament]] is largely silent on polygamy, however, some point to Jesus's repetition of the earlier scriptures, noting that a man and a wife "shall become one flesh".{{efn|{{bibleverse||Genesis|2:24|ESV}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|19:3–6|ESV}}}} 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.{{'"}}{{efn|{{bibleverse||1 Corinthians|6:16|ESV}}}} Supporters of polygamy argue this use of the phrase in relation to prostitution in this verse, means "becoming one flesh" refers to a merely physical, rather than spiritual, union, even when it is used about marriage in other verses.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Most Christian theologians argue that in Matthew 19:3–9 and referring to Genesis 2:24,{{efn|{{bibleverse|Genesis|2:24}}}} [[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?|source=Matthew 19:3–9{{efn|{{bibleverse|Matthew|19:3–9}}}} }}

In the [[New Testament]], scriptures state that polygamy should not be practiced by certain church leaders. [[1 Timothy]] says that certain Church leaders should have but one wife: "A ''bishop'' then must be blameless, the husband of one wife ({{langx|grc-x-koine|mias gunaikos andra||one-woman man}}), vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach". Verse 12 has similar advice regarding deacons having only one wife.{{efn|{{bibleverse|1 Timothy|3:2-12}}}} Similar counsel is repeated in the first chapter of the [[Epistle to Titus]].{{efn-lg|The digital [[Nestle-Aland]] lists only one manuscript (p. 46) as source of the verse, while nine other manuscripts have no such verse, cf. [http://nttranscripts.uni-muenster.de/AnaServer?NTtranscripts+0+start.anv University of Münster ''Institute for New Testament Textual Research'': Transcripts]}}

Periodically, Christian reform movements that have aimed at rebuilding Christian doctrine based on the Bible alone (''[[sola scriptura]]'') have at least temporarily accepted polygyny as a Biblical practice. For example, during the [[Protestant Reformation]], in a document referred to simply as {{lang|de|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]], whose reformation caused a schism in the Western Christian Church leading to the formation of the Lutheran Church, granted the [[Landgrave]] [[Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse|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." ({{lang|la|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>

The [[Lutheran World Federation]] hosted a regional conference in Africa, in which the acceptance of polygynists and their wives 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 |date=1973 |publisher=Gudina Tumsa Foundation |language=en |page=350}}</ref> The Lutheran Church in Liberia, while permitting men to retain their wives from marriages prior to being received into the Church, does not permit polygynists who have become Christians to marry more wives after they have received the sacrament of 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? |date=2012 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |language=en |isbn=978-0-313-38478-3 |page=188}}</ref> Evangelical Lutheran missionaries in Maasai also tolerate the practice of polygyny and in Southern Sudan, and some polygynists 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=978-99960-45-09-7 |pages=41–42}}</ref>

On the other hand, the Roman Catholic Church criticizes polygyny in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Under paragraph 2387 of "Other offenses against the dignity of marriage" of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it states "is not in accord with the moral law". Additionally, paragraph 1645 of "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>{{Citation |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/ccc_toc.htm|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church|publisher=Vatican|access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref> There are small numbers of Roman Catholic theologians that claim polygyny can be an authentic form of marriage in certain regions such as Africa.<ref>Vittorio Messori (1985). ''The Ratzinger report: An exclusive interview on the state of the Church — Pope Benedict XVI'', Ignatius Press, p. 195. {{ISBN|0-89870-080-9}}</ref>

In [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], there has often been a tension between the Western Christian insistence on monogamy and the traditional practice of polygamy. In some instances in recent times there have been moves for accommodation; in other instances, churches have resisted such moves strongly. African Independent Churches have sometimes referred to those parts of the Old Testament that describe polygamy in defending the practice.