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Polygamy is a marital practice in which a person has more than one spouse simultaneously. The term polyamory has been used in recent years to refer to being in romantic or sexual relationships with multiple partners at once; it need not involve marriage. Bigamy is polygamy with a person having two partners (not more).

Polygyny refers specifically to one man having multiple wives, and polyandry to one woman having multiple husbands. Historically, both practices have been found in many cultures, but polygyny is far more common than polyandry. Combinations such as multiple men officially married with multiple women, or a man with two wives, one of whom has also another husband, seem even more rare or nonexistent. Currently no official polygamous same-sex marriage is possible.

Polygynous societies are about four times more numerous than monogamous ones. In 1994, Theodore C. Bergstrom noted in his paper "On the Economics of Polygyny" (U. Mich. Center for Research on Economic and Social Theory, Working Paper Series 94-11) that "Although overt polygamy is rare in our own society, it is a very common mode of family organization around the world. Of 1170 societies recorded in Murdock's Ethnographic Atlas, polygyny (some men having more than one wife) is prevalent in 850.

At the same time, even within societies which allow polygamy, it is often uncommon for polygamy to be actually be practiced. To take on more than one wife often requires considerable financial resources that is outside the means of the vast majority of people within those societies. Within polygamous societies, multiple wives are often seen as a status symbol denoting wealth and power. Conversely, within societies which formally prohibit polygamy, it is often socially allowed for persons to have mistresses or to engage in serial polygamy.

Polygamy is currently prohibited by almost all Jewish and Christian groups. It was permitted in early Judaism, as can be seen from the ancient Patriarchs and the Jewish Kings, although only a minority of Jews practiced it. It was forbidden by Roman law, and by the time of the rise of Christianity, nearly all Jews in the West had abandoned the practice. Nevertheless, it was only in c.1000CE that Ashkenazic Judaism at the behest of Rabbenu Gershom of Mainz formally banned the practice. While polygamy was virtually non-existent among most Jewish communities by the twentieth century, certain remote groups, most notably the Jews of Yemen, continued to practice it until their emigration to Israel, where the practice was in conflict with local law. Polygamy was never permitted in early Christianity.

There are few pronouncements of the early Christian church that explicitly prohibit polygamy, since it was almost unheard of in Graeco-Roman society. Early Christians desired to condemn polygamy, because it conflicted with the prevailing mores of the Graeco-Roman society in which they lived; yet at the same time they had to explain the clear permission given for it in the Old Testament. Saint Augustine demonstrates this conflict in his consideration of the polygamy practiced in the time of the Old Testament patriarchs when he writes "The Good of Marriage" (chapter 15, paragraph 17) that though it "was lawful among the ancient fathers: whether it be lawful now also, I would not hastily pronounce. For there is not now necessity of begetting children, as there then was, when, even when wives bear children, it was allowed, in order to a more numerous posterity, to marry other wives in addition, which now is certainly not lawful." He declines to judge the patriarchs, but he certainly makes the current illegality clear. In another place, he wrote, "Now indeed in our time, and in keeping with Roman custom, it is no longer allowed to take another wife, so as to have more than one wife living ."

In the 5th century both Pope Innocent I and Pope Hilarus issued explicit decrees against polygamy. As the Church spread into more cultures that had previously allowed polygamy, the magisterium continued to condemn the practice, though they also continued to struggle with the theology of the prohibition. Pope Gregory the Great advised Saint Augustine of Canturbury that breaking apart polygamous families that converted to Christianity was a greater sin than the polygamous relationship itself. Martin Luther wrote in De Wette, II, p. 459, "I confess that I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict the Scripture. If a man wishes to marry more than one wife, he should be asked whether he is satisfied in his conscience that he may do so in accordance with the word of God. In such a case, the civil authority has nothing to do in such a matter."

The Catholic Church clearly condemns polygamy today; the Catechism of the Catholic Church lists it in paragraph 2387 under the head "Other offenses against the dignity of marriage" and states that it "is not in accord with the moral law." (((I'm sure all Protestant churches do, too -- can someone specify?))) Splinter groups of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, some other small non-LDS Christian groups in the United States, and some African Christians also practice polygamy.

Polygamous marriages are not recognized by secular law in most "Western" countries with large Jewish and Christian populations. However, few such countries have any laws against living a polygamous lifestyle: they simply refuse to give it any official recognition. Parts of the United States, however, criminalise even the polygamous lifestyle, which is unusual; these laws originated as anti-Mormon legislation, although they are rarely enforced.

Islam, unlike Judaism and Christianity, never prohibited polygamy. It provides legal requirements and restraints that amount to the discouragement of the practice. The verse of the Qur'an that allows polygamy can be translated as "If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly, then only one...." (Qur'an 4:3) Another verse in the same chapter discourages polygamy, stating: "You are never able to be fair and just between women even if it is your ardent desire...." (Qur'an 4:129) The application of these principles stated in most discussions of Islamic polygamy is that a man is required to make equal provision ('deal justly') for each wife and to treat their children equally as well. Several Islamic countries, however, prohibit polygamy anyway (e.g. Libya, Tunisia), and many moderate or liberal Muslims are opposed to the practice. Islamic scholars are divided as to whether an Islamic ruler can prohibit polygamy.

In Imperial China, polygamy was allowed in the form of concubinage. A man could have a primary wife and then take on concubines. The children of the concubine were legitimate and socially considered to be the children of the primary wife. As part of the May Fourth Movement, formal polygamy became considered part of a bad feudal legacy and outlawed. However, many Chinese businessmen and politicians take on mistresses, in some cases rather openly.

Polygamy was practiced in the United States by the early Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which referred to it as plural marriage. It was officially accepted by the Church in 1852, and quickly led to persecution of the LDS and the enacting of laws against its practice (the United States Congress made the practice illegal in U.S. Territories in 1862). Although Latter-day Saints believed that their religiously-based practice of plural marriage was protected by the United States Constitution, opponents used it to delay Utah statehood until 1896. Increasingly harsh antipolygamy legislation stripped Latter-day Saints of their rights as citizens, disincorporated the Church, and permitted the seizure of Church property before the Church ordered the discontinuance of the practice in 1890.

National attention in the United States again focused on potential polygamy among the LDS in the early 1900s during the House hearings on Representative-elect B. H. Roberts and Senate hearings on Senator-elect Reed Smoot (the Smoot Hearings), which caused LDS President Joseph F. Smith to issue his "Second Manifesto" against polygamy in 1904. Since that time, it has been Church policy to excommunicate any member either practicing or openly advocating the practice of polygamy.

Some people, mostly in Utah, who continue to practice polygamy are often called fundamentalist Mormons, but are not affiliated with the church. The practice of informal polygamy among these groups presents itself with interesting legal issues. Because they have not formally married, they can only be prosecuted under laws against adultery or cohabitation. These laws are not easily used because they also criminalize other behavior that is otherwise socially sanctioned. See also Plural Marriage (Mormonism).

Polygamy may or may not involve group sex.

Compare to monogamy and concubinage.