Polygamy is defined as “a marriage including more than two partners.” There are several types of polygamy, including: polygyny, in which a man has multiple wives, polyandry, in which a woman has multiple husbands, and group marriage, in which a family consists of multiple husbands and wives. Of these different types of polygamy, polygyny is definitely the most popular of the three. In America, the practice of any form of polygamy is illegal, and because of this law, many adherents of this lifestyle remain hidden ("What is polygamy?"). Polygamy became a problem in the United States in 1852 when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church, made plural marriage part of its religious doctrine. However, due to the storm of controversy that followed this movement, the Mormon Church officially abandoned the practice in 1890. Mormons who disagreed with the movement broke away from the Mormon church and became known as fundamentalist Mormons. Although the practice was almost unheard of in regions such as the Midwest, Northeast, and South, in the western United States, polygynous marriage is still prevalent. Those caught practicing the faith are fined and sometimes forced to separate from the rest of their families. This is why many remain in the dark about their lifestyle, given the severity of the consequences (“History of Fundamentalist Mormons”). However, recently many families have come out and proclaimed to the world that they are a practicing polygamous family, raising the question: Is it right for the government to tell people who they can and cannot marry? Polygamy can be found all over the world. and it's supposed to be... middle of the paper... "Divorce Rates." Divorce rates. Np, nd Web. December 20, 2011. Fletcher-Stack, Peggy. “Polygamy: Not as rare as you might think.” Network of beliefs. Beliefnet, Inc., 2011. Web. December 19, 2011. “History of Fundamentalist Mormons.” Wheat and weeds. Wheat and weeds, 2011. Web. 19 December 2011. .“Polygamy”. International Association for Debate Education. IDEA Inc., and Web. December 19, 2011. .Quran. Polygamy in the Quran. James M. Arlandson, n.d. Web. December 19, 2011. .“What is polygamy?” Polygamy. Np, 2011. Web. 19 December. 2011. .