Michael Christmas
5/2/14
Belief Systems
Mr. Kunze
Polygamy
Is Polygamy Ethnically Responsible?
Timeline:
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/870159
Michael Christmas
5/9/14
Belief Systems
Mr. Kunze
Vocabulary Terms:
Polygamy: Having more than one spouse at a time.
Bigamy: Having two wives at the same time; they typically live in the same family.
Manifesto: A public declaration of policy and aims.
Mormon: A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a religion
founded in the U.S in 1830 by Joseph Smith Jr.
Hierarchy: A system or organization in which people or groups are ranked one above the
other according to status or authority.
Did You Know Facts:
1. From its inception, the practice was illegal under the laws of the states in which
the members of the Church of the Latter-day Saints lived.
2. The critics of the Latter-day Saints Church have always assailed the practice of
polygamy. They have been particularly critical of the fact that Joseph Smith and
other early Saints denied having multiple wives.
3. The laws passed by Congress during the anti-polygamy period (1862–1890) were
instigated by both public hysteria and religious persecution of the Mormons.
Today, such laws would, in all probability, be declared unconstitutional as a "bill
of attainder" (a legislative act that singles out an individual or group for
punishment without a trial).
4. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the government of the United States
attempted to destroy not only the practice of polygamy, but also the LDS Church
itself.
5. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also called "Mormons," practiced
polygamy before (and to a limited degree after) the Manifesto of 1890, which
made polygamy illegal.
Map:
Article:
http://search.proquest.com/docview/859483553/5282B192104246E9P
Q/59?accountid=47069
Michael Christmas
5/16/14
Pros: For Polygamy
Polygamy can help to pool income
from multiple spouses to support the
family.
There are more members of the
family to divide up the daily work
and household chores.
More family members allow the
members of a polygamous family to
have more free time and to have time
to find their own happiness.
Polygamists can help women who
have low income to have an
opportunity to share funds with a
man and be supported by his family.
Mr. Kunze
Belief Systems
Cons: Not For Polygamy
Polygamy can be dangerous to the
development of children because it
can often lead to child marriage and
at times, incest.
Many polygamists are living in
poverty or near poverty and subsist
on welfare or other funds given to
them by the government.
There is a high-level of tax-fraud
among the polygamist community.
Women living in polygamous
communities have been shown to be
more likely to receive HIV.
Michael Christmas
5/19/14
Mr. Kunze
Belief Systems
Religions Chart:
Islam
Muslim’s support
polygamy and allow
male followers of
their religion to have
multiple wives at
one given time.
LDS Church
Hinduism
The members of the The Hindu Marriage
LDS Church practice Act made polygamy
polygamy to a slight
illegal for all
degree. They do not Hindus, Jains, Sikhs,
fully agree with the
and Buddhists in
practice.
1955.
Polls:
http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/TNcjVAm
FaiIE8wC/web
http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/3kuK7eZ7
htfNlr2/web
Video:
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/polygamy-ruling-utah-22529281