ABSTRACT
Regarding the foundations of polygamy, a much more complex set of differentiations is needed, such as religiously versus culturally based polygamy and official versus unofficial polygamy. Various researchers have tried to come up with generalized models that reduce the complex sets of variables into simple schemes to address this explanatory problem. The legitimate basis for polygamy in a particular society is like a swinging pendulum, however, sometimes found in religious codes, sometimes in cultural codes, such that this legitimacy may change foundations over time. In other words, the legitimacy of polygamy always tends to be contested, with some leaning on cultural codes and some on religious codes to defend their own ways, often using the same codes to argue opposite views. Many polygynous women, however, also consider the churches’ emphasis on Christian monogamy as the ideal marriage to be hypocritical, constituting a veiled form of polygamy even less desirable than formal polygamy.
