The Western Case for Monogamy Over Polygamy
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The Western Case for Monogamy Over Polygamy (Cambridge University Press, 2015) (Italian translation by Andrea Pin and Giada Carolina Erica Ragone, 2017; Chinese translation forthcoming)
Description
For more than 2,500 years, the Western tradition has embraced monogamous marriage as an essential institution for the flourishing of men and women, parents and children, society and the state. At the same time, polygamy has been considered a serious crime that harms wives and children, correlates with sundry other crimes and abuses, and threatens good citizenship and political stability. The West has thus long punished all manner of plural marriages and denounced the polygamous teachings of selected Jews, Muslims, Anabaptists, Mormons, and others. John Witte, Jr. carefully documents the Western case for monogamy over polygamy from antiquity until today. He analyzes the historical claims that polygamy is biblical, natural, and useful alongside modern claims that anti-polygamy laws violate personal and religious freedom. While giving the arguments pro and con a full hearing, Witte concludes that the Western historical case against polygamy remains compelling and urges Western nations to hold the line on monogamy.
Table of Contents
Reviews
“Governments Haven't, and Shouldn't, Recognize Polygamy” -- Christopher Kaczor, Public Discourse - The Journal of The Witherspoon Institute “The presentation consistently offers careful appraisal and judicious evaluation of the sources…. Both the historical depth and the complexity of the topics covered in the work make this a particularly successful and stimulating monograph. Without a doubt, it stands as the new standard work.” -- Mathias Schmoeckel, Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte: Kanonistische Abteilung “an impressive study … ambitious in scope, erudite in its analysis, and a joy to read.” -- Rebecca Probert, Continuity and Change “This hugely important study by John Witte provides a masterful account of the dominant, but not exclusively uncontested, historical approaches in the west to monogamous marriage over polygamous marriage. As well as a scholarly masterpiece, the book has enormous practical value, as these battle lines may emerge, in helping to describe, explain, and evaluate the arguments likely to develop either side of those lines. With meticulous attention to detail, and rich documentation, particularly the juridical materials, John Witte carefully unpacks an extraordinary range of sources in one breath-taking historical sweep…. If polygamy becomes the next cultural and constitutional battle ground in the west, Christians will be grateful to John Witte for his extraordinary achievement in presenting in a single and accessible volume the historical western case for monogamy over polygamy. However, Christians may also benefit from a robust statement of their own modern understandings of marriage as monogamous, as of divine institution, and as of a one flesh union and all that this implies for spousal fidelity, equality, and the nurture of children in family life.” -- Norman Doe, Director, Centre for the Study of Law and Religion, Cardiff University “The Western Case for Monogamy Over Polygamy is clear, careful, and compelling. John Witte’s review of this “Case” is sweeping, and ranges across cultures, continents, and centuries…. As Witte demonstrates, the case against polygamy in the Western tradition does not rest on taboo or revelation. It consists, instead, of a variety of arguments – “arguments from nature, harm, and symbolism”, arguments that are both pre- and post-Christian. These arguments, over time, carried the day not because they were imposed by authority but instead because their force was demonstrated in practice and confirmed in experience.” -- Richard W. Garnett, Director, Program on Church, State, and Society, University of Notre Dame Law School “John Witte's magnificent Western Case for Monogamy Over Polygamy is a book about western objections to polygamy, what westerners have traditionally seen as wrong with polygamy, how they have prosecuted and punished polygamy, and the reasons people have given for and against the ongoing prohibition of polygamy…. For a medieval historian, Witte provides an insightful and awe-inspiringly thorough assessment of the range of ideas concerning polygamy.” -- Sara McDougall, author of Bigamy and Christian Identity in Late Medieval Champagne “An important book for those who want to support same-sex marriage but worry about the slippery slope. Witte, director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University, mines both religious and philosophical sources on the nature of marriage, giving us in effect a guided tour on where the traditional norms over which we do harsh battle came from. From this history, he offers intriguing reasons for distinguishing polygamy as posing a particular threat to a broad range of Western values in ways that same-sex marriage does not.” -- Stephen L. Carter, BloombergView “Witte’s book is an original and brilliant synthesis of the Western history of polygamy and an invaluable resource for new historical research and political arguments on this controversial topic. It is a work of great intellectual power and profound religious sensitivity. Erudition, clarity, argumentation, and literary beauty shine from every page of this stimulating volume.” -- Rafael Domingo, Revista persona y derecho |
Italian Translation 2017
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