Few U.S. adults (11%) believe having an affair is morally acceptable, but more than twice as many (23%) don’t have any issues with polygamy, according to Gallup.
By Aaron Earls
As Western culture has attempted to redefine marriage to include partners of the same sex, many are becoming more accepting of a redefinition of marriage that includes multiple partners.
Polygamy or some version of “open relationships” have increased in media coverage, fictional depictions, and even approval from the American public. In a New Yorker article entitled “How Did Polyamory Become So Popular?” Jennifer Wilson writes, “Everywhere you turn, the door couples close behind them when they enter the sanctum of matrimony is being left ajar. Bored with the old-fashioned affair, prestige TV has traded in adultery for a newer, younger model, mining open relationships for drama.”
The positive press has paid dividends in the public perception of non-monogamous relationships. Few U.S. adults (11%) believe married men and women having an affair is morally acceptable behavior, but more than twice as many (23%) don’t have any issues with polygamy, according to Gallup. Support has more than tripled since Gallup first asked about the practice in 2003 when just 7% said it was OK and 92% believed it was immoral.
Support for polygamy has risen to 23%—more than tripled the 7% who said it was OK when Gallup first asked about the practice in 2003. Share on XPolygamous practice
Noting the fairly rapid increase in approval, Frank Newport, a Gallup senior scientist, highlighted three factors that may have played a role: increased liberalism on moral issues in general, more frequent portrayal of polygamous households in both scripted and reality television, and changes in traditional marriage in American society.
Gallup also noted that while members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are historically linked to the practice, Mormons today are not more accepting of polygamy than other U.S. adults, as the religious group renounced the practice in 1890. Other subgroups are more likely to see polygamy as morally acceptable—young adults, irreligious, unmarried, and Democrats.
Still, having spouse-like relationships with more than one person under the same roof was criminalized in the U.S. in 1882. In recent years, however, some of the penalties have been reduced. In 2020, Utah reclassified adults voluntarily living in a polygamous relationship as an infraction not punishable by jail time.
Understanding the current state
Despite the upswing in approval and media popularity, polygamy is still rare worldwide and in the U.S. According to Pew Research, only about 2% of the global population and less than 0.5% of Americans live in polygamous households. Even in Muslim countries that legally allow men to have multiple wives, fewer than 1% of Muslim men do so. The practice is most common in sub-Saharan Africa, where “11% of the population lives in arrangements that include more than one spouse.”
About 2% of the global population and less than 0.5% of Americans live in polygamous households, according to Pew Research. Share on XDespite growing approval in the U.S., the limited practice may mean many pastors won’t be faced with the issue directly. Even after same-sex marriage has been legalized for seven years, there are fewer than 750,000 same-sex married households in the U.S. as of 2022, according to the Census Bureau.
Almost 9 in 10 pastors say they’ve never been asked to perform a same-sex marriage ceremony, according to Lifeway Research. Support for same-sex marriage among U.S. Protestant pastors has stalled at 21% in 2023.
Navigating the redefinition of marriage
Yet in a cultural context where the definition of marriage becomes increasingly flexible, pastors and churches may be confronted with circumstances involving polygamous relationships. Just as it was wise for churches to “take precautionary steps to protect themselves from legal challenges to their theology, governance, and activities” surrounding the legalization of same-sex marriage, leaders should already be preparing for questions or more serious issues related to polygamy.
In the aftermath of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case legalizing same-sex marriage across the United States, Jeff Iorg said, “The church has to overcome its aversion to these particular kinds of sinful behaviors and recognize that our responsibility—no matter the person’s behavior—is still to present the gospel, lead that person to conversion, and help them become a disciple of Jesus Christ.” Iorg, previous president of Gateway Baptist Theological Seminary in California and current president/CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, edited Ministry in the New Marriage Culture.
“There is no biblical exception given to the church for any segment of our communities. No matter their behavior, we are to love, serve, and evangelize them.” — @Jeff_Iorg Share on XWith the growing support of polygamy, the new marriage culture may grow even more different in the coming years. But churches should remain committed to the biblical teachings on marriage and the call to love our neighbors. “There is no biblical exception given to the church for any segment of our communities,” Iorg said in context of the same-sex marriage legalization. “No matter their behavior, we are to love, serve, and evangelize them.”
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