Modern Polygamy in the United States

Historical, Cultural, and Legal Issues

Edited by Cardell Jacobson and Lara Burton

First book to examine the April 2008 raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Texas
Several of the authors have personal access to the polygamous groups, and can provide an insider's perspective on the individuals and groups.

Modern Polygamy in the United States

Historical, Cultural, and Legal Issues

Edited by Cardell Jacobson and Lara Burton

Description

Few people realize that polygamy continues to exist in the United States. Thus, world-wide attention focused on the State of Texas in 2008 as agents surrounded the compound of The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) and took custody of more than 400 children. Several members of this schismatic religious group, whose women adorned themselves in "prairie dresses," admitted to practicing polygamy. The state justified the raid on charges that underage marriage was being forced on young women. A year later, however, all but one of the children had been returned to their parents and only ten men were charged with crimes, some barely related to the original charges. This book reveals the history, culture, and sometimes an insider's look at the polygamous groups located primarily in the western parts of the United States.

The contributors to this volume are historians, anthropologists, and sociologists familiar with the various groups. A legal scholar also addresses the legality of the Texas raid and a geneticist examines the paternity issues. Together, these authors provide a much needed understanding of the surprisingly large number of groups and individuals who live a quiet polygamous life style in the United States.

Modern Polygamy in the United States

Historical, Cultural, and Legal Issues

Edited by Cardell Jacobson and Lara Burton

Prologue and Introduction: The Incident At Eldorado, Texas Cardell K. Jacobson and Lara Burton
Section 1: Historical and Cultural Patterns of Polygamy in the United States: Estranged Groups
1. A Repeat of History: A Comparison of the Short Creek and El Dorado Raids on the FLDS Martha Sonntag Bradley
2. One Vision: The Making, Unmaking, and Remaking of a Fundamentalist Polygamous Community Heber B. Hammon and William Jankowiak
3. Life Among the FLDS: Not Perfect, But Not Deluded and Not Monsters Ken Driggs
4. History, Culture, and Variability of Mormon Schismatic Groups Janet Bennion
5. Differing Polygamous Patterns: Nineteenth Century LDS and Twenty-First Century FLDS Marriage Systems Kathryn Daynes
Section 2: Social Scientists Examine Polygamy and the Seizure of the FLDS Children
6. Demographic, Social and Economic Characteristics of a Polygamist Community Tim B. Heaton and Cardell K. Jacobson
7. The Many Faces of Polygamy: An Analysis of the Variability in Modern Mormon Fundamentalism in the Intermountain West Janet Bennion
8. "What's Love Got to Do with It?": Earthly Experience of Celestial Marriage, Past and Present Carrie A. Miles
9. Social Scientific Perspectives on the FLDS Raid and the Corresponding Media Coverage Ryan T. Cragun and Michael Nielsen
10. Learning the Wrong Lessons: A Comparison of FLDS, Family International, and Branch Davidian Child-Protection Interventions Gary Shepherd and Gordon Shepherd
11. The International Fight Against Barbarism: Historical and Comparative Perspectives on Marriage Timing, Consent, and Polygamy. Arland Thornton
Section 3: Legal and Ethical Issues Surrounding the Seizure of the FLDS Children
12. The Intricacies and Ethics of Parental Genetic Testing Deborah L. Cragun and Ryan T. Cragun
13. Child Protection Law and the FLDS Raid in Texas Linda F. Smith

Modern Polygamy in the United States

Historical, Cultural, and Legal Issues

Edited by Cardell Jacobson and Lara Burton

Author Information

Karl G. Maeser Professor of General Education, Brigham Young University

Contributors:

Martha Sonntag Bradley
Janet Bennion
Lara Burton
Ryan Cragun
Deborah L. Cragun
Kathryn Daynes
Ken Driggs
Heber B. Hammon
Tim B. Heaton
Cardell K. Jacobson
William Jankowiak
Carrie Miles
Michael Nielsen
Gary Shepherd and Gordon Shepherd
Linda F. Smith
Arland Thornton

Modern Polygamy in the United States

Historical, Cultural, and Legal Issues

Edited by Cardell Jacobson and Lara Burton

Reviews and Awards

"This well-balanced collection by historians, social scientists, and legal scholars, most of them established experts, provides a comprehensive treatment of the FLDS and other contemporary polygamous cultures in North America. The authors examine religious and other rationales for this way of life that are offered by both male and female participants, and present candid critiques both of the polygamous communities and of their antagonists in law enforcement and in the mass media." --Armand L. Mauss, author of The Angel and the Beehive: The Mormon Struggle with Assimilation

"At last some light, not just heat about America's new polygamy scandal, its roots and ramifications. Both well reasoned and well written, this book shows the people and the principles at stake. It will change how you think about both." --Kathleen Flake, Associate Professor of American Religious History, Vanderbilt University

"Modern Polygamy in the United States is an outstanding book. Together, these authors provide a much-needed understanding of the surprisingly large number of groups and individuals who live the polygamous life style in the United States."--Vickie Cleverley Speek, the Association for Mormon Letters

"Provides much material for anyone seeking to better understand the practice of plural marriage in nineteenth-century Mormonism and its modern aftermaths."--BYU Studies Quarterly

"This anthology is a worthy read for anyone who desires to understand the basics and some intricacies of the 2008 raid on the FLDS Yearn for Zion Ranch."-- Journal of Mormon History