THE EFFECTS OF POLYGAMOUS MARRIAGE ON CHRISTIANS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
THE STUDY’S BACKGROUND
Encyclopedia definition of family America is a core group of people who are related by birth, marriage, or other names (such as adoption) and live in the same house. The family is both a subset of a person’s total kinship network and a key unit of the household or domestic economy.
Although family composition and structure differ greatly across cultures. Furthermore, families have existed in all societies and at all times in human history, and they are a powerful symbol of social cohesion as well as a moral microcosm of community and society.
When anthropologists and sociologists speak of the family, they may be referring to married parents and children or to a broader kinship unit. Social scientists have hypothesized that the family performs a set of basic functions in all societies. A basic function is any activity that is required for the society to continue to exist. An individual’s organization is defined as a role and is conceptualized around a specific function, such as child rearing.
Furthermore, each role implies a reciprocal role; for example, the sexual functions of marriage reside in both the husband’s and the wife’s roles. According to J.B Chitamber (1972), family is the fundamental social institution of an organized relationship involving workable and dependable people through ties of marriage by blood, adoption, common consent, and characterized by common residence and economic cooperation.
According to Dr. Martin Herbert (1975), the family is the most recognized unit in all known societies because it resumes the function of child bearing, perpetuation of the family and human rules, socialization, provision of economic man tenancy and life hood, love, affection, and security. According to Bas Dean (1977), there are many different types of family units, including monogamous and polygamous family units.
Because the monogamous family unit is common in advanced countries, it is often referred to as the Western type of family. It is mostly praised by educated people, religious ethnics who allow only monogamous marriage and those legally married in a court of law.
Polygamy is thus a type of marriage that allows a person to have more than one husband or wife. There are various types of polygamy, but the researcher has narrowed his findings to two notable examples: polygamy and polyandry. Polygamy is the process by which a man marries more than one woman or wife, whereas polyandry is the process by which a woman marries more than one man or husband.
This is mostly practiced in Tibet. The researcher’s research is based on the impact of this marriage on the girl child. This type of marriage is common in Nigeria, especially in the Oredo local government area of Edo state. Dr. Martin Herbert and Ushio Biolonwu agreed on the following points:
It is traditionally practiced because of the prestige it bestows on a man in the society in which he lives. Most religions encourage the practice of marrying more than one wife; for example, in Islam, you are expected to marry as many wives as you want, depending on your purchasing power.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Every society in the world has a specific structure designated to meet the immediate needs of the society; as a result, Oredo settlement has a robust nature of socialization that clearly defines the role of both sexes (male and female). Women’s positions in Nigerian societies, particularly in Oredo, have received little attention over the years.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The goal of this research is to determine the effects of polygamous family units on Christians in the Oredo local government area. To highlight the factors that led to the formation of polygamous family units and to make recommendations that will result in a long-term solution to this problem.
THE STUDY’S IMPORTANCE
The study’s findings will be extremely useful to the following people: The married women because they are the majority involved in this type of marriage the Christian opinion about the issue of polygamous family unit in Oredo local government area of Edo state the findings of the research will be carefully analyzed and interpreted through the data collected and solutions to a given problems will be provided
QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH
To achieve the study’s goal, the following questions were raised to determine whether or not they influence polygamous parents’ attitudes toward girls’ education.
1. What motivates men to engage in polygamous marriage?
2. What are the consequences of this type of marriage for a Christian?
3. How will people avoid the negative consequences of such marriage?
4. What happens to such a family after the man dies?
5. Do you believe educated parents will engage in polygamous marriage?
TERMS DEFINITION
EDUCATION: The process by which an individual acquires knowledge, skills, attitudes, and abilities that allow him or her to positively contribute to the meaningful development of society. a definition from the American Encyclopedia Education is the process by which society preserves and perpetuates its social valves and institutions as a design to affirmatively assist individuals in developing their skills or potentials and leading productive and satisfying lives. It is the means by which the collective wisdom of previous generations is passed down to each new generation.
POLYGAMOUS: This is the institution that allows more than one wife or husband to marry. It can be polygamous; systematic polygamy is when a man marries a woman, divorces her, marries another, divorces her, and so on. While polyandry is the practice of a woman marrying more than one husband.
FAMILY: The family is viewed as a subset of an individual’s total Kinsley network and a key unit of the household or domestic economy, as well as a symbol of social cohesion and moral philosophy.
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