The Case Against Polygamy? (America, divorce, marriage, muslim, Article)

[Sunstone]

From, "Muslim Polygamy In America", by Ali Eteraz:

http://eteraz.wordpress.com/2006/07/...rica/#more-356


"Finally: these days there is a little bit of discussion among the extreme left that polyamorous relationships (of both kinds) should be able to be sanctified by marriage. I oppose this. Unless and until male manipulation of women is done away with let’s not propagate such idiocy. As to where a woman takes on multiple husbands as well, I have a problem with that as well, because it means that the men are being manipulated. Let’s keep marriage between two people. My argument is not based on ‘what will happen to the children’ or to ’sexually transmitted diseases.’ Rather, I am against giving legal sanction to multiple marriages because of its political implications. More marriages mean more divorces, and more divorces mean more intrusion by the State. We already have plenty, thank you very much. I also believe that if multiple marriages are allowed, it will be men who will take advantage of it far more than women — due to their historical position and our society’s financial disparity. As a Muslim I have seen exactly what happens when men get to exercise the right. To the left: you do not want to go down that road."


Does Ali Eteraz make a good case against polygamy in his article?

Should polygamy be allowed on religious grounds?

What about allowing it on other grounds?

Are there religious and/or secular reasons to oppose polygamy? If so, what are those?

[MaddLlama]

One thing that annoys me about the argument is the assertion that "the divorce rate will go up". Yes, it will. But, proportionate to the number of marriages. There will never be more divorces than marriages, and if the people who look at statistics would lok at the WHOLE picture (marriages and divorces) rather than just half of it, this wouldn't be a big issue.

In the end, marriage should be up to the states. The federal government shouldn't get involved at all, no matter how many divorces happen in the state.

[Sunstone]

Originally Posted by MaddLlama

One thing that annoys me about the argument is the assertion that "the divorce rate will go up". Yes, it will. But, proportionate to the number of marriages. There will never be more divorces than marriages, and if the people who look at statistics would lok at the WHOLE picture (marriages and divorces) rather than just half of it, this wouldn't be a big issue.

In the end, marriage should be up to the states. The federal government shouldn't get involved at all, no matter how many divorces happen in the state.

Actually, Maddllama, I think Ali Eteraz was making the argument that the divorce rate would go up even out of proportion to the number of marriages. That is, it seems to me he was arguing that it would rise above the 50% rate that it's currently at. Perhaps that's because more people would be dissatisfied with their marriages if they had to share their partner with another man or woman.

[SoyLeche]

Originally Posted by MaddLlama

One thing that annoys me about the argument is the assertion that "the divorce rate will go up". Yes, it will. But, proportionate to the number of marriages. There will never be more divorces than marriages, and if the people who look at statistics would lok at the WHOLE picture (marriages and divorces) rather than just half of it, this wouldn't be a big issue.

In the end, marriage should be up to the states. The federal government shouldn't get involved at all, no matter how many divorces happen in the state.

If divorces went up propotionally to marriages there would be no change in the divorce rate. In order for the rate to go up, there have to be more divorces per marriage - by definition.

[MaddLlama]

Originally Posted by SoyLeche

If divorces went up propotionally to marriages there would be no change in the divorce rate. In order for the rate to go up, there have to be more divorces per marriage - by definition.

Mathematically, the number of divorces can't be higher than the number of marriages.

[Sunstone]

Originally Posted by MaddLlama

Mathematically, the number of divorces can't be higher than the number of marriages.

That's very true. Mathematically, the divorce rate can never be over 100%. Currently, it's about 50%. All Ali Eteraz is saying is that if polygamy were introduced, the divorce rate would rise above its current rate of about 50%. But he's certainly not saying that the divorce rate would rise above 100%. That would be absurd.