Polygamy is having multiple spouses at the same time, while bigamy involves legally marrying multiple partners without their knowledge. Many jurisdictions ban both, with penalties ranging from fines to jail time. Polygamy is often practiced by men, while polyandry involves women having multiple husbands. Some jurisdictions do not enforce polygamy laws, leading to complaints of violating religious freedom and privacy rights.
Polygamy is having more than one spouse at the same time. Bigamy is a form of polygamy and involves a person legally marrying multiple partners. While polygamy is not illegal everywhere, many jurisdictions ban polygamy and bigamy, and others ban bigamy only. Penalties for these offenses include fines and/or jail time. The severity of the penalty depends on the jurisdiction.
Often, when polygamy occurs, it is a man who has multiple wives, i.e. polygamy. In some cases, a woman may have multiple husbands; this is called polyandry. Usually everyone involved in a polygamous relationship lives in the same household. Thus, spouses are all aware that they are in a polygamous relationship.
Bigamy, however, is a little different. A bigamist is a person who legally marries multiple partners without their knowledge. In other words, people married to a bigamist are unaware that their spouse is in multiple marriages. A bigamist often maintains a home for each spouse in a different city to keep marriages secret.
In the United States, for example, the severity of punishment for polygamy and/or bigamy varies widely. Some jurisdictions classify these offenses as misdemeanors, while others classify them as felonies. Fines typically range from $500 United States Dollars (USD) to $10,000 USD. Detention time in general can range from six months to nine years. However, each jurisdiction may establish the sanctions it deems appropriate.
In some jurisdictions, a good faith belief that a person has been granted a statutory divorce or annulment is a valid defense against a charge of bigamy or polygamy. An annulment means that a court has declared a marriage invalid from its inception. A person’s ignorance of the law or a misunderstanding of the law is no defense. US courts also reject, as a defense, a religious belief that a particular faith approves of multiple spouses. In other words, freedom of religion cannot protect a polygamist from prosecution.
Some jurisdictions that criminalize polygamy do not enforce the law or make minimal enforcement efforts. For example, in the United States, Utah has often failed to enforce its polygamy laws. Critics said it was due to the state’s large Mormon population who once believed that God approved of polygamy or plural marriages. Eventually, the Mormon Church gave up the practice. However, some Mormons in the western United States still engage in polygamous relationships.
Polygamists in the US complain that the government is violating their religious freedom and their right to privacy under the US Constitution. They point out that the government does not prosecute a person for having multiple sexual partners, having children with multiple partners, or living in the same place with multiple partners. Yet the government can prosecute a person for claiming the benefit of multiple-partner marriage. Polygamists believe this is unfair.
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