Polygamy is defined as “a marriage that includes more than two partners.” There are different types of polygamy, including: polygyny, where a man has multiple wives, polyandry, in which a woman has multiple husbands, and group marriage, where a family is made up of multiple husbands and wives. Among these different types of polygamy, polygamy is certainly the most popular of the three. In America, the practice of any form of polygamy is illegal, and because of this law, many followers of this lifestyle remain in hiding ("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 LDS Church, made plural marriage a 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 separated from the Mormon Church and are who became known as fundamentalist Mormons. Although the practice is almost unknown in regions such as the Midwest, Northeast, and South, in the western part of the United States, polygamous marriage is still prevalent. Those who practice this belief are fined and sometimes forced to separate from the rest of their families. For this reason, many remain in the dark about their way of life, given the seriousness of the consequences (“History of Fundamentalist Mormons”). However, recently many families have come out of hiding and proclaimed to the world that they are a practicing polygamous family, raising the question: is it fair for the government to tell people who they can and cannot be with? marry? Polygamy is present all over the world. and it is believed to be... middle of paper ...... “Divorce rate”. Divorce rate. Np, and Web. December 20, 2011. .Fletcher-Stack, Peggy. “Polygamy: not as rare as you might think. » Beliefnet. Beliefnet, Inc., 2011. Web. December 19, 2011. “History of the Fundamentalist Mormons.” » Wheat and tares. Wheat and Tares, 2011. Web. December 19, 2011. “Polygamy”. International Association for Debate Education. IDEA Inc., nd Web. December 19, 2011. .Quran. Polygamy in the Quran. James M. Arlandson, nd Web. December 19, 2011. “What is polygamy? » Polygamy. NP, 2011. Web. December 19. 2011. .