Western Case for Monogamy over Polygamy

John Witte, Jr is Robert W. Woodruff University Professor and Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University, Atlanta. A world authority in legal history, he has directed twelve major international projects on democracy, human rights, religious liberty, marriage, family, and children. He has lectured throughout the world and published twenty-seven books, including, recently, Christianity and Human Rights: An Introduction (Cambridge, 2010) and The Sins of the Fathers: The Law and Theology of Illegitimacy Reconsidered (Cambridge, 2009).

• 1. From polygamy to monogamy in ancient Judaism; 2. Monogamy versus polygamy in the early church; 3. Polygamy in the laws of state and church in the first millennium; 4. The medieval case for monogamy over polygamy; 5. Polygamous experiments in early Protestantism; 6. The Calvinist case against polygamy and its civil law impact; 7. The English case against polygamy: theology, politics, and the early modern common law; 8. The early modern liberal case for polygamy; 9. The Enlightenment liberal case against polygamy; 10. The American case against polygamy.

'By providing such an outstanding survey of the historical arguments against polygamy, Witte makes a convincing argument that at present, the focus on harms and rights in contemporary legal and constitutional discourse (not religious beliefs or practices) is likely to keep polygamy at bay in the United States for some time to come. This is essential reading for understanding debates about marriage, religion, and state interests.' A. G. Roeber, Journal of Church and State