English
The union between two or more partners that originate from an intimate relationship can be termed as marriage. There are two major forms of marriage namely monogamous and polygamous. Monogamous marriage entails union of two people; usually of the opposite gender, in holy matrimony. Studies indicate that the majority of people adopt monogamous marriage across the world. On the other side, polygamous marriage is on the increase. Polygamous marriage can be described as union of more than two intimate partners, which adopts cultural and religious doctrines. The paper extrapolates on the differences and similarities between monogamous and polygamous marriages. The study reflects on the culture, economy, religion, technology and morality, in the line of marriage diversity.
Both polygamy and monogamy have cultural backing in relation to practices and vows. In many occasions, polygamy entails a man being the head of the family. What is more, the majority of people define polygamy as a marriage that involves a man marrying many wives. However, there are many forms of polygamous marriages that entail intimate relationship among partners. Streamline religions such as Islam and Mormon propagates the development and support of polygamy. The Muslim community adheres to the religious doctrines, which give the male figure to marry many wives. Religion and culture provide the male figure with the authority to marry more than one wife, in the line of upholding fidelity. Similarly, monogamy has strong religious backing whereby a man is the head of the family. Among Christians, spouses in monogamy must respect each other. Both marriages’ depict union of people in an intimate relationship. Partners in a monogamous marriage strive to develop a unified family through mutual companionship.
Contrastingly, many nations recognize and accept monogamy marriage. In addition, the union of spouses follow a legal and religious proceeding through vows. The legal backing of monogamous marriage aims at providing security to the spouses in times of divorce. Polygamy lacks concrete legal policies, which define rights of spouses. Instead, polygamy adheres to religious and cultural guideline in consummating marriage. Marrying of more than one spouse through legal means is regarded as a criminal offence in the majority of nations. Subsequently, polygamous marriage uses religious and cultural practices to legitimize the union. Evidently, polygamous marriage does not uphold gender equality. The male figure makes decisions for the family. The wife is obligated to respect and act as directed by the head of the house. On the other side, monogamy appreciates modernization whereby gender equality is paramount. In monogamy, the decision-making process applies the aspect of inclusion. Both spouses participate, share and contribute to the upkeep of the family.
In the line of morality, monogamous marriage bounds partners through religious vows. Both partners are mandated to uphold fidelity, honesty and respect marriage vows. Additionally, spouses must adopt high morality values to remain faithful to each other. Contrastingly, studies indicate that sixty percent of monogamous marriages end up in divorce. The most contributing factor to the collapse of monogamous marriage is infidelity. Apart from infidelity, technology and social diversification increases chances of engaging in extramarital affairs. Monogamous partners argue that one is liable to boredom, in relation to socializing and love. There are also successful monogamous marriages that are founded on the ground of strong mutual trust and respect among partners. On the other side, polygamous marriages are associated with high fidelity. Studies indicate that polygamous marriages tend to last for long as compared to monogamy. The main reason for practicing polygamous marriage is to avoid extramarital affairs that arise in monogamous marriages. The aspect of sexual satisfaction comes into play in a polygamous marriage. In contrast, marriage studies indicate that spouses in a polygamous marriage engage in infidelity. This is solely caused by discrimination and lack of sexual satisfaction.
Both polygamy and monogamy improve the social and economic status of individuals. In monogamous marriage, the union acts as a rite of passage. The man adopts the father figure while the woman adopts a motherly figure in the family. There is an overall improvement of economic status of spouses in monogamy. The majority of people engage in pre-nuptial agreements before marriage. This aims at creating economic security in case the marriage collapses. Although monogamous marriage is cemented on the basis of lifelong partnership, disagreements and infidelity results to divorce. Economic strains and extramarital affairs dictate monogamous marriage in the contemporary world. In polygamy, the head of the family is mandated to provide for family indiscriminately. Difference between polygamy and monogamy occurs in rights to own wealth. The spouses, usually women, do not have the right to inherit properties from the marriage. What is more, jealousy, discrimination and lack of sexual satisfaction results to collapse of polygamous marriage. Many countries prohibit polygamy based on the economic strains and violation of human rights in such a marriage.
The contemporary society associates an ideal marriage to monogamy. On the other hand, the increase in infidelity and divorce in monogamous marriages beats the morality, social and economic issues. What is more, there are challenges associated with polygamy ranging from violation of human rights to discrimination. At the end, any form of marriage will last based on trust, consent and morality among partners.
