Monogamy vs. Polygamy: Cultural Comparisons Across Societies

Introduction: Polygamy as a Cultural Phenomenon

Polygamy is still a relatively taboo subject within the United States. American culture is at odds with the idea of polygamy, even as the concepts of true love and personal excess run wild within social and cultural marketing and the American psyche. The most visible group that still maintains polygamous sects within the United States is the Mormons. This religion, at one time, promoted polygamy as a goal for mainstream believers, but has since abandoned that practice in favor of monogamous marriage. Yet polygamy among certain Mormon sects still exists today and represents an interesting lens through which to examine this concept from an American perspective.

Polygamy in Saudi Arabia

Polygamy is relatively commonplace in Saudi Arabia, where men may take up to four wives (Aarts and Nonneman, 2005). The cultural and community implications of this practice in Saudi Arabia are far different from those found within certain Mormon sects in the United States. The Saudi tradition of polygamy stretches back thousands of years, and, like in Mormon sects, it is supported through religious scripture (Embry, 1987). Women's social value in Saudi Arabia differs considerably from that of women in Mormon polygamous communities, though certain similarities between the two cultures can be drawn. In both cases, women are regarded as the lesser-valued gender.

From the standpoint of a polygamous culture, women generally hold a lower societal value than men. Women cannot take multiple husbands, and in Saudi Arabia as well as in many Mormon sects, wives are expected to be subordinate to their husbands — at risk of social ostracization or harsher punishments (Ahmed, 1982). In places where children have labor value, polygamy makes sense both culturally and logically.

Shifting Community Values in Saudi Society

In modern Saudi society, polygamists are a dying breed, existing largely as symbols of how higher-status men were once expected to behave (Souryal, 1987). Polygamy is increasingly impractical, demanding too much time and attention from the husband for many in the Saudi middle class to adopt (Rugh, 1973). This is significant because it suggests that a sense of community is no longer centered on the number of wives or family structure per se, but rather on the individual's place in daily life and the practicality of everyday routines and existence.

Community in Saudi Arabia is being reshaped by these shifts. It is beginning to appear as though community ties are being established on the individual level, defined by a person's value to society rather than by family size or reproductive potential (Al Rasheed, 1997). Women in Saudi Arabia still do not possess the same rights as men and therefore remain subordinate to males within legal and social frameworks — but the cultural role that polygamy once played in cementing that hierarchy is weakening.

Conclusion: Cultural Definitions of Community and Gender

Community in the broader American context is defined as a grouping of individuals — both men and women — since both genders hold equal rights under the law. It is neither socially acceptable nor generally religiously sanctioned in mainstream American culture for women to be subjugated or for men to take multiple wives. Such arrangements are typically viewed as expressions of greed, lust, or the desire for power, rather than as acts of love or genuine religious devotion. The contrast between these cultural frameworks illuminates how deeply marriage practices are embedded in broader systems of social value, gender hierarchy, and community identity.