What if your spouse’s culture or religion considered polygamy perfectly acceptable and one day he or she came to you with the announcement that another spouse would be joining your marriage? While polygamy is illegal in this country, the laws against it are rarely enforced and it is still practiced here. Also, note that “plural marriage” activists are currently trying to include polygamy in any “new” legal definition of marriage.
What would you do? Would you even consider the idea, or would you reject it out of hand? Would you try to save your marriage without agreeing to include another partner, or would you call it quits? These questions may be difficult to answer for some unless or until they find themselves presented with such a situation, but the answer isn’t difficult for me.
I would not tolerate such a thought for one minute. My vows were given -before my God- to my husband only. His were sworn to me only. For him to suggest adding another person to our relationship would be breaking his vows just as surely as having an affair behind my back would be. Thankfully, polygamy is not an issue in my marriage but it is in some.
There is a difference for those who enter marriage knowing that someday polygamy may become an issue. Some women (and men, although this type of arrangement is rare) don’t have a problem with plural marriage. I guess if it was agreed upon in advance it would be different, but personally I’d never agree to it at any time, under any circumstances.
That’s my personal conviction on the matter, but everyone has his or her own opinion. I’d be very interested to hear what others think and feel about the possibility of multiple spouses in their marriages.
What say you?