Monogamy is such a uniform element of our daily lives that we do not consider the possibility of any other form of partnership.

With polygamy and its supporters recently stepping into the limelight and offering a glimpse into their once-covert home lives, it would seem the question at hand is whether or not Americans will turn their backs on traditional values and accept polygamy and other contemporary practices into modern society.

“When most people think of monogamy, the first thing they think about is (monogamy) in a sexual sense,” said Amber Paulk, assistant professor of sociology. “But it really just means two partners to the exclusion of a third partner. But legally monogamy really is classically one man and one woman. That is changing, but even within that context we still have no state in the United States that has a law allowing multiple partners of any gender.”

Often times in cultures around the world monogamy is not practiced. If a family can afford it, polygamy is the predominant social norm, especially in Islamic cultures, Paulk said.

“If you go back 100 years to where it was practiced legally and openly, you would see one man, typically in a society where women didn’t work, trying to support multiple families,” Paulk said. “It led to a lot of social problems, in terms of those people living in poverty, or needing assistance from the state in some way.”

Our country’s history with monogamy is one of the reasons officials have issues with large communities of polygamists. The vast majority of individuals in those family structures take some sort of assistance from the state, Paulk said.

“It’s actually interesting, one of the ways we practice monogamy in the United States is something more aligned with a term called serial monogamy,” Paulk said. “Most people, when they think about monogamous relationships, are thinking about marriage, and they’re thinking about marrying one person.”

Monogamy might be popular because of religion, but at the same time it is human nature and monogamy comes naturally to some people, said freshman Ellen Scott.

“At least in Jewish and Christian traditions monogamy can be dated back to about the Middle Ages,” said Carl Gebhardt, adjunct professor of history. “Prior to that, monogamous relationships had more to do with expediency and economics — for a man to have more than one wife, he had to have the wherewithal to support her. The preponderance of Christianity probably has an awful lot to do with us today taking monogamy for granted.”

The U.S. has laws which govern monogamy, and they will be tested in court over the coming years — almost entirely — because of the growing feeling there is excessive government invasion in citizens’ lives as of present, Gebhardt said.

“America is beginning to accept bigamy, and there are also 16 states that allow gay marriage, so I think there will be eye opening experiences later on,” said sophomore Michael Stewart.

Balance will be what the court systems will have to look to in the coming years.

“Religious freedom, as a fundamental precept of the U.S., is being challenged by both the Mormon polygamist and by other religions that have come to the United States, where restricting is actually denying them religious freedom in their minds,” Gebhardt said. “So, our court system is going to be challenged with lawsuits that require some sort of judgment about balancing their religious freedoms with what the norm has been in the United States.”