Bharatpedia - User contributions [en]

Pawan Sehrawat

2023-10-06T00:55:30Z

Williamscott: Disambiguating links to Indian (link changed to India).

{{Short description|Indian Kabaddi Player}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Pawan Sehrawat
| fullname = Pawan Kumar Sehrawat
| nickname = Hi-Flyer
| nationality = Indian
| citizenship = [[India]]n
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1997|7|9|df=y}}, [[New Delhi]]
| alma_mater = [[Delhi University]]
| years_active = 2016-
| employer = Indian Railways
| agent =
| height = 179 cm
| weight = 85 kg
| website =
| country = India
| sport = [[Kabaddi]]
| event =
| league = [[Pro Kabaddi League]]
| team = [[Bengaluru Bulls]] (2016, 2018–21) <br>
[[Gujarat Giants (kabaddi)|Gujarat Giants]] (2017) <br>
[[Tamil Thalaivas]] (2022)
| show-medals = yes
| medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry|{{IND}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[South Asian Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2019 South Asian Games|2019 Kathmandu]]|Team}}
}}

'''Pawan Kumar Sehrawat''' is an [[India|Indian]] [[kabaddi]] player who played for [[Tamil Thalaivas]] in the [[Pro Kabaddi League]] and represents [[Indian Railways]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://sportstar.thehindu.com/kabaddi/pro-kabaddi-league/pkl-2019-pawan-kumar-sehrawat-five-best-moments-bengaluru-bulls-vs-up-yoddha-eliminator-1/article29681905.ece|title=Pro Kabaddi: Five moments when 'Hi-Flyer' Pawan Sehrawat scaled new heights|newspaper=Sportstar|date=14 October 2019|access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> Pawan became the most expensive player in the history of the Pro kabbadi league when [[Tamil Thalaivas]] picked him for {{INR}} 2.26 crores for the [[2022 Pro Kabaddi League|ninth]] season.<ref name="Exp">{{cite news|title=PKL S9 Player Auctions Highlights: Pawan Sehrawat becomes most expensive player in PKL at 2.26 crore|url=https://www.espn.in/espn/story/_/id/34350987/pkl-s9-player-auctions-live-news-blog-pawan-sehrawat-pardeep-narwal-siddarth-desai-vikash-kandola|access-date=21 August 2022|publisher=[[ESPN]]|date=5 August 2022}}</ref>

==Career==
===Pro-Kabaddi league===
;Initial seasons
Pawan made his debut for [[Bengaluru Bulls]] in [[2016 Pro Kabaddi League (January)|third]] season of [[Pro Kabaddi League]]. He played in 13 games and finished as his team's leading raid-point scorer with 45 points.<ref name="Stats">{{Cite web|url=https://www.prokabaddi.com/players/pawan-sehrawat-profile-318|title=Pawan Sehrawat Profile|website=vivo Pro Kabaddi League|access-date=2 October 2023|ref=2}}</ref> Pawan played ten games in [[2016 Pro Kabaddi League (June)|season 4]] and scored only 11 points from 33 raids.<ref name="Stats"/> Pawan was picked up by [[Gujarat Giants (kabaddi)|Gujarat Giants]] for [[2017 Pro Kabaddi League|season 5]] and was mainly used as an impact raider off the bench. He played nine matches including the final and scored ten points.<ref name="Stats"/>

;Break through and key player
Pawan returned to Bengaluru Bulls for [[2018–19 Pro Kabaddi League|season 6]]. He scored 20 raid points in the first match against [[Tamil Thalaivas]]. He scored four ''Super 10''s in his first five appearances. He eventually finished with 282 points with 13 ''Super 10''s .<ref name="Stats"/> Pawan scored 13 raid points in Qualifier 1 and 22 raid points in the final against Gujarat Giants with Bengaluru Bulls winning their maiden title.<ref name="Scorecard">{{cite web|title=Scorecard, Bulls vs Giants|url=https://www.prokabaddi.com/matchcentre/762-scorecard|publisher=Pro Kabaddi|access-date=24 June 2019|ref=5}}</ref> He was crowned the league's ''Most Valuable Player''.<ref name="MVP">{{cite web|title=Pawan Kumar Sehrawat emerges as Season 6's Most Valuable Player|url=https://www.prokabaddi.com/news/pawan-kumar-sehrawat-emerges-as-season-6s-most-valuable-player|publisher=Pro Kabaddi|access-date=24 June 2019|ref=4}}</ref><ref name="Book their place in the final">{{cite web|title=Kumar and Sehrawat deliver for Bengaluru Bulls as they book their place in the final|url=https://www.prokabaddi.com/news/kumar-and-sehrawat-deliver-for-bengaluru-bulls-as-they-book-their-place-in-the-final|publisher=Pro Kabaddi|access-date=24 June 2019|ref=3}}</ref>

Sehrawat led the Bulls to their second playoff appearance in [[2019 Pro Kabaddi League|season 7]] and finished the season as the league's top scorer with 353 points. He scored 39 raid points against [[Haryana Steelers]], the most by any raider in a single game in the history of [[Pro Kabaddi League]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.news18.com/news/sports/pro-kabaddi-2019-pawan-sehrawats-record-breaking-raiding-helps-bengaluru-bulls-crush-haryana-steelers-2331435.html|title=Pro Kabaddi 2019: Pawan Sehrawat's Record-breaking Raiding Helps Bengaluru Bulls Crush Haryana Steelers|date=2 October 2019|publisher=IBN|access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> Pawan was the most successful raider scoring 320 points in [[2021–22 Pro Kabaddi League|season 8]].<ref name="Stats"/>

;Injury and comeback
Pawan became the most expensive player in the history of the Pro kabbadi league when [[Tamil Thalaivas]] picked him for {{INR}} 2.26 crores for the [[2022 Pro Kabaddi League|ninth]] season.<ref name="Exp"/> However, he suffered a knee injury in the first match of the season against Gujarat Giants, ending his season.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.in/kabaddi/story/_/id/34951290/pkl-9-pawan-sehrawat-ruled-season-tamil-thalaivas|title=PKL 9: Pawan Sehrawat ruled out for the season|date=5 November 2022|access-date=2 October 2023|publisher=[[ESPN]]}}</ref>

Before the [[2023 Pro Kabaddi League|tenth]] season, Thalaivas released Pawan and he will go back into the auction pool.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.in/kabaddi/story/_/id/38154866/pkl-season-10-retention-list-pawan-kumar-sehrawat-pardeep-narwal-fazel-atrachali-shadloui-auction-pool|title=Pawan enters auction pool, Pardeep surprisingly retained: Takeaways from PKL Season 10 retention list|date=8 August 2023|access-date=2 October 2023|publisher=[[ESPN]]}}</ref>

===International career===
Pawan played for the [[India national kabaddi team]] at the [[2019 South Asian Games]] winning the gold medal.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Viswanath|first=G.|title=Pawan Sehrawat: India was matchless at South Asian Games|url=https://sportstar.thehindu.com/kabaddi/pawan-sehrawat-south-asian-games-nepal-pro-kabaddi-league-pkl-deepak-hooda/article30287851.ece|access-date=1 February 2022|website=Sportstar|date=12 December 2019|language=en}}</ref> He won gold medal at the [[Asian Kabaddi Championship|Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023]] representing the Indian team.<ref name="Gold">{{Cite news|newspaper=Sportstar|date=30 June 2023|title=Pawan Sehrawat helps India beat Iran to win gold in Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023|url=https://sportstar.thehindu.com/kabaddi/asian-kabaddi-championship-2023-india-beat-iran-match-report-pawan-sehrawat-mohammadreza-shadloui/article67026312.ece|access-date=18 July 2023}}</ref>

==Awards and achievements==
* Most Valuable Player, [[2018 Pro Kabaddi League season|2018 Pro Kabbadi league]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.prokabaddi.com/news/pawan-kumar-sehrawat-emerges-as-season-6s-most-valuable-player|title=Pawan Kumar Sehrawat emerges as most valuable player of season 6|publisher=Pro Kabbadi|access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref>
* Most raid points, [[2018 Pro Kabaddi League season|2018]], [[2019 Pro Kabaddi League|2019]] and [[2021–22 Pro Kabaddi League]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/sports/pro-kabaddi-2018-pawan-to-ajay-thakur-here-s-the-list-of-top-5-raiders-119010400934_1.html|title=List of top 5 raiders in PKL Season 6|newspaper=Business Standard|date=4 January 2019|access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/sports/from-pawan-sehrawat-to-naveen-kumar-top-five-raiders-in-pro-kabaddi-2019-119101701262_1.html|title=Top 5 raiders in Pro Kabaddi 2019|date=17 October 2019|newspaper=Business Standard|access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref>
* Most raid points in a [[Pro Kabaddi]] match (39)<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.prokabaddi.com/news/sehrawats-39-point-performance-powers-bengaluru-bulls-into-the-playoffs|title=Sehrawat's 39 point performance powers Bengaluru Bulls into the playoffs|publisher=Pro Kabbadi|access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref>
* Gold, [[2019 South Asian Games]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lakhina|first1=Tanuj|title=South Asian Games 2019: We didn't get much competition, says raider Pawan Sehrawat after India win seventh straight gold|url=https://www.firstpost.com/sports/south-asian-games-2019-we-didnt-get-much-competition-says-raider-pawan-sehrawat-after-india-win-seventh-straight-gold-7793961.html|url-status=live|access-date=31 December 2019 |work=Firstpost|date=18 December 2019 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20191231190850/https://www.firstpost.com/sports/south-asian-games-2019-we-didnt-get-much-competition-says-raider-pawan-sehrawat-after-india-win-seventh-straight-gold-7793961.html|archive-date=31 December 2019}}</ref>
* Gold, [[Asian Kabaddi Championship|Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023]]<ref name="Gold"/>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sehrawat, Pawan}}
[[Category:1996 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian kabaddi players]]
[[Category:Pro Kabaddi League players]]
[[Category:Kabaddi players at the 2022 Asian Games]]
[[Category:South Asian Games gold medalists for India]]
[[Category:South Asian Games medalists in kabaddi]]

Maanu (actor)

2023-09-15T13:15:22Z

Williamscott: Constructed an original page.

{{Short description|Indian actor}}
{{Sources exist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Maanu
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Guttigeri Manappa
| birth_date =
| birth_place = [[Shimoga]], [[Karnataka]], India
| death_date = {{death date|1996|7|16|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Karnataka]], India
| nationality = Indian
| other_names =
| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|television director|author}}
| years_active =
| spouse = {{marriage|Asha|1975}}
| children = 2
}}

'''Guttigeri Manappa''' (died 16 July 1996),<ref name="km">{{cite AV media |title="25 ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ಆ ರಾತ್ರಿ ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ನಡೆದದ್ದು ಏನು?"-EP02-Actor Maanu LIFE- Asha Interview-Kalamadhyama |language=kn |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_bI8g2lbP4 | time= 15:28, 15:35 |access-date=13 September 2023}}</ref> known [[Mononymous person|mononymously]] as '''Maanu''',<ref name="pv1">{{cite web |last1=Venkat |first1=Hema |title=ರಂಗಭೂಮಿಯ ಮಹಾಮನೆ ಬೆನಕ |url=https://www.prajavani.net/entertainment/theatre/ರಂಗಭೂಮಿಯ-ಮಹಾಮನೆ-ಬೆನಕ-1932880 |trans-title=Benaka, Theatre's Great House |publisher=[[Prajavani]] |access-date=13 September 2023 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20230913034932/https://www.prajavani.net/entertainment/theatre/%E0%B2%B0%E0%B2%82%E0%B2%97%E0%B2%AD%E0%B3%82%E0%B2%AE%E0%B2%BF%E0%B2%AF-%E0%B2%AE%E0%B2%B9%E0%B2%BE%E0%B2%AE%E0%B2%A8%E0%B3%86-%E0%B2%AC%E0%B3%86%E0%B2%A8%E0%B2%95-1932880 |archive-date=13 September 2023 |language=kn }}</ref> was an Indian actor, television director and author. He was most noted for his work in [[Kannada cinema]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Manu |url=https://chiloka.com/celebrity/manu |publisher=chiloka.com |access-date=13 September 2023}}</ref> For his performance in ''[[Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane]]'' (1977), he received the [[Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Kannada]] at the [[25th Filmfare Awards South]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Collections |publisher=Update Video Publication |page=389 |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=Q5UqAAAAYAAJ |access-date=13 September 2023}}</ref>

== Biography ==
Maanu hailed from [[Kuppalli]], a village in [[Shimoga district]] of [[Karnataka]]. He obtained his [[bachelor of arts]] degree from Sahyadri College in [[Shimoga]]. During this time, he also performed in [[amateur theatre]]. He obtained a master's degree from [[University of Mysore]], and began working as a [[Reader (academic rank)|reader]] at a private educational institution. Maanu married the daughter of a family friend, Asha, in 1975, and the couple had two children. He was a part of Benaka theatre troupe and performed in plays such as ''Sattavara Neralu''.<ref name="pv1"/>

Maanu's career in films began when he appeared in ''[[Ondu Premada Kathe]]'' (1977), written by B. R. Lakshmana Rao. He would also become a frequent collaborator of director [[Baraguru Ramachandrappa]], and appeared in his films, ''Surya'' (1987) and ''Karadipura'' (1996) among others. The latter was his last film.<ref name="km"/> In addition to acting, Maanu authored books such as ''Lingana Kudi'' and ''Geleyara Geleya Ambareesh'', a biographical account of actor [[Ambareesh]]. He also directed a television adaptation of [[Kuvempu]]'s ''Malenadina Chitragalu'', a 13-part series, which was telecast of ''[[DD Chandana]]''.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=HOME TOUR-ನಟ ಮಾನು ಅವರ ಸ್ವರ್ಗದಂಥ ಮನೆ-EP01-Actor Maanu LIFE- Asha Interview-Kalamadhyama-#param |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jlsCA_wAdo |access-date=13 September 2023 }}</ref>

Maanu died due to injuries sustained from a car crash on the night of 16 July 1996 near [[Arsikere]], en route to [[Shimoga]], to address a gathering of the Nava Nirmana Vedike banner, of Karnataka's former [[List of chief ministers of Karnataka|Chief Minister]] [[Ramakrishna Hegde]].<ref name="km"/>

== Filmography ==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* ''[[Ondu Premada Kathe]]'' (1977)...Kamalesh Nayar
* ''[[Lakshmi Nivasa]]'' (1977)
* ''Manassinanthe Mangalya'' (1977)
* ''[[Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane]]'' (1977)...Kalingegowda
* ''Havina Hejje'' (1978)
* ''[[Sandharbha]]'' (1978)
* ''[[Parasangada Gendethimma]]'' (1978)
* ''Sadananda'' (1979)
* ''[[Kaadu Kudure]]'' (1979)...Huligonda
* ''[[Atthege Thakka Sose]]'' (1979)
* ''[[Asadhya Aliya]]'' (1979)...Shekhar
* ''Arivu'' (1979)
* ''Doddamane Estate'' (1980)
* ''Anurakte'' (1980)
* ''[[Manku Thimma]]'' (1980)
* ''Kappu Kola'' (1980)
* ''Rajeshwari'' (1981)
* ''Sangeetha'' (1981)
* ''[[Havina Hede]]'' (1981)
* ''Bhagyada Belaku'' (1981)
* ''Balu Bangara'' (1981)
* ''[[Avali Javali]]'' (1981)
* ''Prema Mathsara'' (1982)
* ''[[Karmika Kallanalla]]'' (1982)
* ''[[Gandharvagiri]]'' (1983)
* ''Chandi Chamundi'' (1983)
* ''[[Ramapurada Ravana]]'' (1984)
* ''Police Papanna'' (1984)
* ''[[Khaidi (1984 film)|Khaidi]]'' (1984)
* ''Kaliyuga'' (1984)
* ''[[Benki Birugali (1984 film)|Benki Birugali]]'' (1984)
* ''Thayi Thande'' (1985)
* ''Rasthe Raja'' (1986)
* ''Henne Ninagenu Bandhana'' (1986)
* ''Bete'' (1986)
* ''Beralge Koral'' (1987)
* ''Surya'' (1987)
* ''Shiva Bhaktha Markandeya'' (1987)
* ''Mr. Raja'' (1987)
* ''[[Suprabhatha]]'' (1988)...Sundareshwar
* ''Sahasa Veera'' (1988)
* ''Kote'' (1988)
* ''Bhoomi Thayane'' (1988)
* ''Sri Mylara Linga'' (1989)
* ''Singari Bangari'' (1989)
* ''[[Hrudaya Geethe]]'' (1989)
* ''Sididedda Gandu'' (1990)
* ''Ranabheri'' (1990)
* ''Prathap'' (1990)
* ''Veerappan'' (1991)
* ''SP Bhargavi'' (1991)
* ''[[Undu Hoda Kondu Hoda]]'' (1992)...Dundappa
* ''Entede Bhanta'' (1992)
* ''Chithralekha'' (1992)
* ''Kempaiah IPS'' (1993)
* ''Bhagavan Sri Saibaba'' (1993)
* ''[[Baa Nalle Madhuchandrake]]'' (1993)...Preethi's father
* ''[[Samrat (1994 film)|Samrat]]'' (1994)...Chief Minister
* ''[[Palegara]]'' (1996)
* ''Karadipura'' (1996)
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|nm13411517}}

[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:Male actors in Kannada cinema]]
[[Category:Indian male film actors]]
[[Category:People from Shimoga district]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Kannada-language writers]]
[[Category:University of Mysore alumni]]
[[Category:Indian television directors]]
[[Category:Filmfare Awards South winners]]
[[Category:Date of birth missing]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]

Mastercard

2023-04-05T08:00:57Z

Williamscott: Added structure.

{{short description|American multinational financial services corporation}}
{{Use mdy dates}}
{{Use American English}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Mastercard Inc.
| logo = Mastercard 2019 logo.svg
| logo_size = 200px
| logo_caption = Logo used since 2019
| type = [[Public company]]
| traded_as = {{ubl|{{NYSE|MA}} (Class A)|[[S&P 100]] component|[[S&P 500]] component}}
| industry = [[Financial services]]
| foundation = {{Start date and age|1966}}
| location = [[Mastercard International Global Headquarters|2000 Purchase Street]]
| location_city = [[Purchase, New York|Purchase]], New York
| location_country = U.S.
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = {{ ubl
| [[Merit Janow]] (chair)
| Michael Miebach (CEO)
}}
| brands = {{flatlist|
* [[Cirrus (interbank network)|Cirrus]]
* [[Maestro (debit card)|Maestro]]
* [[Mondex]]
* [[Masterpass|MasterPass]]
}}
| services = {{ ubl
| [[Credit card]]s
| [[Payment system]]s
}}
| revenue = {{Increase}} {{US$|22.24 billion}} (2022)
| operating_income = {{Increase}} {{US$|12.26 billion}} (2022)
| net_income = {{Increase}} {{US$|9.93 billion}} (2022)
| assets = {{Increase}} {{US$|38.72 billion}} (2022)
| equity = {{Decrease}} {{US$|6.30 billion}} (2022)
| num_employees = 29,900 (2022)
| website = {{URL|mastercard.com}}
| footnotes = <ref name="10-K">{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1141391/000114139123000020/ma-20221231.htm |title=Mastercard Incorporated 2022 Annual Report (Form 10-K) |publisher=[[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] |website=sec.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://fortune.com/2019/01/07/mastercard-drops-its-name-from-company-logo-post-text-future-target-nike-apple/|title=Mastercard Drops Its Name From Company Logo|website=Fortune|language=en|access-date=January 10, 2019}}</ref>
}}

'''Mastercard Inc.''' (stylized as '''MasterCard''' from 1979 to 2016, '''mastercard''' from 2016 to 2019) is the second-largest payment-processing corporation worldwide. It offers a range of [[financial services]]. Its [[Mastercard International Global Headquarters|headquarters]] are in [[Purchase, New York]].<ref name=10K>{{cite web |url=https://newsroom.mastercard.com/press-releases/mastercard-incorporated-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2016-financial-results/ |title=MasterCard Incorporated Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2016 Financial Results |publisher=MasterCard |access-date=December 2, 2017 |archive-date=October 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024153234/https://newsroom.mastercard.com/press-releases/mastercard-incorporated-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2016-financial-results/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Throughout the world, its principal business is to process payments between the banks of merchants and the card-issuing banks or credit unions of the purchasers who use the Mastercard-brand [[Debit card|debit]], [[credit card|credit]] and [[Debit card#Prepaid debit cards|prepaid]] cards to make purchases. Mastercard has been [[public company|publicly traded]] since 2006.

Mastercard (originally '''Interbank''' then '''Master Charge''')<ref>{{cite web |title=MasterCard Corporate Milestones |url=http://www.mastercard.com/us/company/en/ourcompany/company_milestones.html |access-date=2019-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514105529/http://mastercard.com/us/company/en/ourcompany/company_milestones.html |archive-date=2013-05-14 |url-status=unfit}}</ref> was created by an alliance of several banks and regional bankcard associations in response to the [[Visa Inc.|BankAmericard]] issued by [[Bank of America]], which later became [[Visa Inc.|Visa]], still its biggest competitor. Prior to its [[initial public offering]], Mastercard Worldwide was a [[cooperative]] owned by the more than 25,000 [[financial institution]]s that issue its branded cards.

==History==
{{multiple image
| direction = vertical
| align = right
| width = 200
| image1 = Master Charge logo.svg
| alt1 = Overlapping discs, overlaid with words, master charge, the interbank card. In the bottom right, small Interbank I logo.
| caption1 = 1969–1979, featuring the original Interbank logo of 1966
| image2 = MasterCard 1979 logo.svg
| alt2 = Same discs, overlaid with MasterCard in bold
| caption2 = 1979–1990
| image3 = MasterCard early 1990s logo.svg
| alt3 = Discs are not overlapped but intersecting, with thin horizontal lines from each side interlaced
| caption3 = 1990–1996
| image4 = MasterCard Logo.svg
| alt4 = Discs are interlaced, but with fewer but thicker horizontal prongs. Typeface has drop-shadow.
| caption4 = Corporate 1996–2006, on cards 1996–2016
| image5 = 2012-Mastercard-Logo-DS.png
| alt5 = Overlapping discs are overlaid with two larger, variably translucent discs. Wordmark below.
| caption5 = Corporate logo 2006–2016
| image6 = Mastercard-logo.svg
| alt6 = Overlapping discs, in flat, simple colours
| caption6 = 2016–2019
}}

Although BankAmericard's debut in September 1958 was a notorious disaster,<ref name="Nocera_Page_31">{{cite book |last1=Nocera |first1=Joseph |title=A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=9781476744896 |page=31 |edition=2013 paperback |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mZ5FAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA31}}</ref> it began to turn a profit by May 1961.<ref name="Stearns1">{{cite book |last1=Stearns |first1=David L. |title=Electronic Value Exchange: Origins of the Visa Electronic Payment System |publisher=Springer |location=London |isbn=978-1-84996-138-7 |page=24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k2tTTBOImXMC&pg=PA24}} Available through SpringerLink.</ref> Bank of America deliberately kept this information secret and allowed then-widespread negative impressions to linger in order to ward off [[Competition (economics)|competition]].<ref name="Stearns2">{{cite book |last1=Stearns |first1=David L. |title=Electronic Value Exchange: Origins of the Visa Electronic Payment System |publisher=Springer |location=London |isbn=978-1-84996-138-7 |page=25|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k2tTTBOImXMC&pg=PA25}} Available through SpringerLink.</ref> This strategy was successful until 1966, when BankAmericard's profitability had become far too big to hide.<ref name="Stearns2" /> From 1960 to 1966, there were only 10 new credit cards introduced in the United States, but from 1966 to 1968, approximately 440 credit cards were introduced by banks large and small throughout the country.<ref name="Stearns2" /> These newcomers promptly banded together into regional bankcard associations.<ref name="Stearns3">{{cite book |last1=Stearns |first1=David L. |title=Electronic Value Exchange: Origins of the Visa Electronic Payment System |publisher=Springer |location=London |isbn=978-1-84996-138-7 |page=27|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k2tTTBOImXMC&pg=PA27}} Available through SpringerLink.</ref>
[[File:Old Bankamericard sign.jpg|left|thumb]]
One reason why most banks chose to join forces was that at the time, 16 states limited the ability of banks to operate through branch locations, while 15 states entirely prohibited branch banking and required unit banking.<ref name="Stearns5">{{cite book |last1=Stearns |first1=David L. |title=Electronic Value Exchange: Origins of the Visa Electronic Payment System |publisher=Springer |location=London |isbn=978-1-84996-138-7 |page=19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k2tTTBOImXMC&pg=PA19}} Available through SpringerLink.</ref> A unit bank can legally operate only at a single site and is thereby forced to remain very small.<ref name="Stearns5" /> By joining a regional bankcard association, a unit bank could quickly add a credit card to its lineup of financial products, and achieve [[economies of scale]] by outsourcing tedious [[back office]] tasks like card servicing to the association.<ref name="Stearns3" /> Such associations also enabled unit banks to aggregate their customer bases and merchant networks in order to make a credit card useful for both customers and merchants; early credit cards had failed because they could only be used within a small radius around their respective issuing banks.<ref name="Stearns5" />

In 1966, Karl H. Hinke, an executive vice president at [[Marine Midland Bank]], asked representatives of several other banks to meet him in [[Buffalo, New York]].<ref name="Jennings">{{cite news |last1=Jennings |first1=Robert |title=Credit Card Industry to Salute Three Pioneers |work=American Banker |page=12}} Available through [[ProQuest]].</ref><ref name="Loomis">{{cite news |last1=Loomis |first1=Jay |title=MasterCard Turns 40 |work=The Journal News |page=C7}} Available through [[ProQuest]].</ref> Marine Midland had just launched its own regional bankcard in the [[Upstate New York]] market after Bank of America declined its request for a BankAmericard regional license on the basis that Marine Midland was too big.<ref name="AP_Hinke_Obituary">{{cite news |title=Karl H. Hinke, Pioneer Of The MasterCard |url=https://apnews.com/article/9b87e44211b3e52adf1462dc777859cf |access-date=28 November 2021 |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] }}</ref> The result of the Buffalo meeting was that several banks and regional bankcard associations soon agreed to join forces as Interbankard, Inc.,<ref name="Jennings" /><ref name="Loomis" /> which then became the Interbank Card Association (ICA).<ref name="Stearns3" /> By the end of 1967, ICA had 150 members and Hinke became ICA's chairman.<ref name="AP_Hinke_Obituary" /> Bank of America eventually joined MasterCard as well.<ref name="AP_Hinke_Obituary" /> (In the 21st century, Bank of America would revive the BankAmericard brand name as a Mastercard credit card, which it remains today).

The Interbank branding in 1966 initially consisted only of a small unobtrusive lowercase ''i'' inside a circle in the lower right-hand corner of the front of each Interbank card; the rest of the card design was the prerogative of each issuing bank.<ref name="Stearns4">{{cite book |last1=Stearns |first1=David L. |title=Electronic Value Exchange: Origins of the Visa Electronic Payment System |publisher=Springer |location=London |isbn=978-1-84996-138-7 |page=28|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k2tTTBOImXMC&pg=PA28}} Available through SpringerLink.</ref> This tiny logo proved to be entirely unsatisfactory for creating nationwide [[brand awareness]] in order to compete against the established leader, BankAmericard.<ref name="Stearns4" /> In 1969, Interbank developed a new national brand, "Master Charge: The Interbank Card" by combining the two overlapping yellow and orange circles of the Western States Bankcard Association with the "Master Charge" name coined by the First National Bank of Louisville, Kentucky.<ref name="Stearns4" />

That same year, [[Citibank|First National City Bank]] joined Interbank and merged its proprietary [[The Everything Card|Everything Card]] with Master Charge.

In 1968, the ICA and [[Eurocard (credit card)|Eurocard]] started a strategic alliance, which effectively allowed the ICA access to the European market, and for Eurocard to be accepted on the ICA network. The [[Access (credit card)|Access]] card system from the United Kingdom joined the ICA/Eurocard alliance in 1972.<ref name="fundinguniverse"/>

In 1979, ''Master Charge: The Interbank Card'' was renamed ''MasterCard''.<ref name="fundinguniverse">{{cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/mastercard-international-inc-history/|title=History of MasterCard International Inc|publisher=Funding Universe|access-date=June 13, 2020}}</ref>

In 1983, MasterCard International Inc. became the first bank to use holograms as part of their card security.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Harper |first1=Gavin |title=Holography Projects for the Evil Genius |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0-07-162400-8 |page=4}}</ref> They acquired the Cirrus network of [[Automated teller machine|automated tellers]] in 1985.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brand History |url=https://brand.mastercard.com/brandcenter/more-about-our-brands/brand-history.html |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=Mastercard Brand Center}}</ref>

In 1997, MasterCard took over the Access card; the Access brand was then retired.{{Citation needed}} In 2002, MasterCard International merged with [[Europay International]], another large credit-card issuer association, of which Eurocard had become a part in 1992.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.banktech.com/payments/mastercard-and-europay-merge-to-form-a-global-payments-company/d/d-id/1288945.html|title=MasterCard And Europay Merge To Form a Global Payments Company|publisher=BankTech|access-date=June 13, 2020}}</ref> MasterCard became a Delaware in connection with the merger, as well as in anticipation of an IPO.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Fleischer |first=Victor |title=The Mastercard IPO: Protecting the priceless brand |url=https://deliverypdf.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=684088071004066000097102111084003109026012051033042091108127096074073025068072109121101122062000122051045116004109024075077043057061084085004026089123113018096040089005080121079007004010009112123065095108119064120002125075081093110080127083121085&EXT=pdf&INDEX=TRUE |journal=Harvard Negotiation Law Review |via=SSRN}}</ref>

The company, which had been organized as a [[cooperative]] of banks, had an [[initial public offering]] on May 25, 2006, selling 95.5 million shares at $39 each.<ref>{{cite web |title=MasterCard IPO rises 40% from discounted price |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mastercard-rallies-18-from-discounted-price |access-date=June 3, 2017 |publisher=[[MarketWatch]]}}</ref> The stock is traded on the [[New York Stock Exchange|NYSE]] under the symbol MA, with a market capitalization of $367.1 billion as of May 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yahoo Finance |url=https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/quote/MA?p=MA&.tsrc=fin-srch |access-date=May 25, 2021 |publisher=Yahoo.com}}</ref> The deal was designed to maintain the value of the brand and minimise regulatory costs.<ref name=":0" />

In August 2010, MasterCard Worldwide, as it had been rebranded, expanded its e-commerce offering with the acquisition of [[DataCash]], a UK-based payment processing and fraud/risk management provider.<ref>{{cite news|last=Spillane |first=Chris |title=MasterCard to Acquire DataCash for 333 Million Pounds |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-19/mastercard-buys-datacash-for-517-million-after-court-accord-shares-jump.html |publisher=[[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]] |access-date=March 7, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Farrell |first=Sean |title=MasterCard pays £333m for British online payments firm DataCash |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/mastercard-pays-163333m-for-british-online-payments-firm-datacash-2057346.html |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |location=London |access-date=March 7, 2012 |archive-date=November 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130052414/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/mastercard-pays-163333m-for-british-online-payments-firm-datacash-2057346.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In March 2012, MasterCard announced the expansion of its mobile contactless payments program, including markets across the Middle East.<ref>{{cite web|author=Rima Ali Al Mashni |title=QNB Group, Qtel, Oberthur and MasterCard introduce first mobile Near Field Communication payments program in Qatar |url=http://www.ameinfo.com/292567.html |publisher=[[AMEinfo.com]] |access-date=March 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309224815/http://www.ameinfo.com/292567.html |archive-date=March 9, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In spring 2014, MasterCard acquired Australia's leading rewards program manager company Pinpoint for an undisclosed amount.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/04/mastercard-to-acquire-business-reward-services-provider-pinpoint/ |title=Mastercard to acquire Business Reward Services Provider Pinpoint |publisher=Biharprabha.com |access-date=April 17, 2014}}</ref> In August 2017, Mastercard acquired Brighterion, a company with a portfolio of intellectual property in the areas of artificial intelligence and machine learning.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newsroom.mastercard.com/press-releases/mastercard-enhances-artificial-intelligence-capability-with-the-acquisition-of-brighterion-inc-2/|title=Mastercard Enhances Artificial Intelligence Capability with the Acquisition of Brighterion, Inc. – Global Hub|website=newsroom.mastercard.com|access-date=September 23, 2017}}</ref> Brighterion holds several [[patent]]s.<ref>{{cite web | title=Patents by Assignee Brighterion, Inc. | website=Justia Patents Search | date=August 7, 2017 | url=https://patents.justia.com/assignee/brighterion-inc | access-date=September 23, 2017}}</ref>

In April 2021, Mastercard created a calculator that gathers information and measures the carbon footprints of the customers in order to help them know how much they are contributing in carbon emissions and global warming.<ref>{{cite news|author=Alexis Benveniste|title=Mastercard launches carbon calculator in its latest attempt to go green|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/12/business/mastercard-carbon-calculator/index.html|access-date=2021-04-12|website=CNN}}</ref>

Following the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], Mastercard complied with United States sanctions and banned cards from being issued or used in Russia, including foreign cards from other countries.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ponnezhath |first1=Maria |title=Visa, Mastercard block Russian financial institutions after sanctions |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/mastercard-blocks-multiple-russian-financial-institutions-network-2022-03-01/ |access-date=6 March 2022 |website=Reuters |language=en}}</ref> Mastercard suspended all business operations in [[Russia]], which had accounted for 4% of their revenue.<ref>{{cite news |last=Paybarah |first=Azi |title=Mastercard and Visa suspend operations in Russia |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/05/world/europe/mastercard-visa-suspend-operations-russia.html |access-date=March 6, 2022}}</ref> However, bank cards themselves continue to work in Russia due to the transfer of internal transactions to the [[Russian National Card Payment System]]''.''

=== Finances ===
{| class="wikitable float-left" style="text-align: right;"
|+Development since 2005<ref>{{cite web|title=Mastercard Financial Statements 2005–2018 {{!}} MA|url=https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MA/mastercard/financial-statements|access-date=October 22, 2018}}</ref>
!Year
!Revenue<br />(US$ M)
!Operating income<br />(US$ M)
!Share price<br />(US$)
!Employees
|-
|2005
|2,938
|393
|
|
|-
|2006
|3,326
|229
|6.20
|
|-
|2007
|4,068
|1,108
|13.65
|
|-
|2008
|4,992
|−534
|20.33
|
|-
|2009
|5,099
|2,260
|17.99
|5,100
|-
|2010
|5,539
|2,752
|22.01
|5,600
|-
|2011
|6,714
|2,713
|28.73
|6,700
|-
|2012
|7,391
|3,937
|41.58
|7,500
|-
|2013
|8,312
|4,503
|59.34
|8,200
|-
|2014
|9,441
|5,106
|75.33
|10,300
|-
|2015
|9,667
|5,078
|90.62
|11,300
|-
|2016
|10,776
|5,761
|94.50
|11,900
|-
|2017
|12,497
|6,622
|126.54
|13,400
|-
|2018
|14,950
|7,282
|186.16
|14,800
|-
|2019
|16,883
|9,664
|300.74
|18,600
|-
|2020
|15,301
|8,081
|370.00
|21,000
|-
|2021
|18,884
|10,082
|354.83
|24,000
|-
|2022
|22,237
|12,264
|347.73
|29,900
|}
As of 2020, Mastercard ranked 191 on the [[Fortune 500|''Fortune'' 500]] list of the largest United States corporations by revenue.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fortune 500|url=https://fortune.com/fortune500/2020/search/?name=mastercard|url-status=live|access-date=May 21, 2021|website=Fortune|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Market power ==
Operating a payment processing network entails risk of engaging in anticompetitive practices due to the many parties involved (that is, the customer and their bank and the merchant and their bank).<ref name=":0" />

Few companies have faced more antitrust lawsuits both in the US and abroad.<ref name="Unfair" />

===United States===
Mastercard, along with Visa, engaged in systematic parallel exclusion against [[American Express]] during the 1980s and 1990s. Mastercard used exclusivity clauses in its contracts and blacklists to prevent banks from doing business with American Express. Such exclusionary clauses and other written evidence were used by the United States Department of Justice in regulatory actions against Mastercard and Visa.<ref name="NYO">[http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/04/tmobile-verizon-monopoly-oligopoly-business-practices.html T-Mobile, Wireless Carriers, and the Way to Fight Oligopolies]. The New Yorker. Retrieved on October 30, 2013.</ref> [[Discover Financial|Discover]] has sued Mastercard for similar issues.<ref name="Unfair">{{cite news |title=Credit Card Market Is Unfair, Noncompetitive |first=Mallory |last=Duncan |newspaper=Roll Call }}</ref>

Both Mastercard and Visa have paid approximately $3 billion in damages resulting from a [[Class action|class-action lawsuit]] filed in January 1996 for debit card swipe fee price fixing.<ref>[http://www.hagens-berman.com/visa_mastercard_lawsuit Visa/MasterCard Litigation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426082748/http://www.hagens-berman.com/visa_mastercard_lawsuit}}, January 1, 1996</ref> The litigation cites several retail giants as plaintiffs, including [[Walmart|Wal-Mart]], [[Sears Holdings|Sears, Roebuck & Co.]], and [[Safeway Inc.|Safeway]].<ref>[http://www.inrevisacheckmastermoneyantitrustlitigation.com/ www.inrevisacheckmastermoneyantitrustlitigation.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809212213/http://inrevisacheckmastermoneyantitrustlitigation.com/}}. Retrieved July 13, 2011.</ref>

In 1996, about 4 million merchants sued Mastercard in federal court for making them accept debit cards if they wanted to accept credit cards and dramatically increasing credit card swipe fees. This case was settled with a multibillion-dollar payment in 2003. This was the largest antitrust award in history.<ref name="Unfair" />

In 1998, the Department of Justice sued Mastercard over rules prohibiting their issuing banks from doing business with American Express or Discover. The Department of Justice won in 2001 and the verdict withstood appeal. American Express also filed suit.<ref name="Unfair" />

On August 23, 2001, Mastercard International Inc. was sued for violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weil.com/industries/TransactionDetail.aspx?experience=14902&service=1913/|title=Joshua Rubin and Joseph Phillips et al. v. MasterCard International, LLC|access-date=August 8, 2021|archive-date=July 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710102131/https://www.weil.com/404?item=%2Findustries%2Ftransactiondetail&user=extranet%5CAnonymous&site=WeilUS|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On November 15, 2004, Mastercard Inc. paid damages to [[American Express]], due to anticompetitive practices that prevented American Express from issuing cards through U.S. banks,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6494456/ns/business-us_business/t/american-express-sues-visa-mastercard/ |title= American Express sues Visa, MasterCard |website= [[NBC News]] }}</ref> and paid $1.8 billion for settlement.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Dash|first1=Eric|title=MasterCard Will Pay $1.8 Billion to American Express|journal=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/business/26credit.html?_r=0|access-date=February 10, 2015}}</ref>

==== Swipe fee fixing and merchant discount bans ====
{{main article|Payment card interchange fee and merchant discount antitrust litigation}}

On November 27, 2012, a federal judge entered an order granting preliminary approval to a proposed settlement to a class-action lawsuit<ref>{{cite web |title=Class Settlement Preliminary Approval Order pg.11 |url=https://www.paymentcardsettlement.com/Content/Documents/signed%20prelim%20approval%20order.pdf |access-date=July 9, 2019 |work=[[United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York|U.S. District Court]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803181431/https://www.paymentcardsettlement.com/Content/Documents/signed%20prelim%20approval%20order.pdf |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> filed in 2005 by merchants and trade associations against Mastercard and Visa. The suit was filed due to alleged price-fixing practices employed by Mastercard and Visa. About one-fourth of the named class plaintiffs have decided to opt-out of the settlement. Opponents object to provisions that would bar future lawsuits and prevent merchants from opting out of significant portions of the proposed settlement.<ref name="MasterCard">{{cite web |last=Longstreth |first=Andrew |title=Judge approves credit card swipe fee settlement |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/businessmain/judge-approves-credit-card-swipe-fee-settlement-2D11741836 |access-date=July 9, 2019 |work=[[NBC News]]}}</ref>

Plaintiffs allege that [[Visa Inc.]] and Mastercard fixed [[interchange fee]]s, also known as swipe fees, that are charged to merchants for the privilege of accepting payment cards. In their complaint, the plaintiffs also alleged that the defendants unfairly interfere with merchants from encouraging customers to use less expensive forms of payment such as lower-cost cards, cash, and checks.<ref name="MasterCard" />

A settlement of $6.24 billion got preliminary approval in November, 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Visa, Mastercard $6.24B settlement gets preliminary okay from court |url=https://seekingalpha.com/news/3436264-visa-mastercard-6_24b-settlement-gets-preliminary-okay-court |access-date=July 9, 2019 |work=[[Seeking Alpha]]}}</ref> A settlement of $5.54B was approved in 2019. Certain merchants appealed the settlement and were heard. The case is ongoing {{As of|2022|10|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Payment Card Interchange Fee Settlement |url=https://www.paymentcardsettlement.com/en |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=paymentcardsettlement.com}}</ref>

==== Antitrust settlement with U.S. Justice Department ====
In October 2010, Mastercard and Visa reached a settlement with the [[United States Department of Justice|U.S. Justice Department]] in another antitrust case. The companies agreed to allow merchants displaying their logos to decline certain types of cards (because [[interchange fee]]s differ), or to offer consumers discounts for using cheaper cards.<ref>Vanek, Stacey. (October 4, 2010) [http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/10/04/pm-visa-mastercard-settlement-means-more-flexibility-for-retailers/ Visa, Mastercard settlement means more flexibility for merchants | Marketplace From American Public Media] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727192417/http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/10/04/pm-visa-mastercard-settlement-means-more-flexibility-for-retailers/}}. marketplace.publicradio.org. Retrieved July 13, 2011.</ref>

==== ATM operators ====
Mastercard, along with [[Visa Inc.|Visa]], has been sued in a class action by ATM operators that claim the credit card networks' rules effectively fix ATM access fees. The suit claims that this is a [[restraint of trade]] in violation of federal law. The lawsuit was filed by the National ATM Council and independent operators of automated teller machines. More specifically, it is alleged that Mastercard's and Visa's network rules prohibit ATM operators from offering lower prices for transactions over PIN-debit networks that are not affiliated with Visa or Mastercard. The suit says that this price-fixing artificially raises the price that consumers pay using ATMs, limits the revenue that ATM operators earn, and violates the [[Sherman Antitrust Act|Sherman Act]]'s prohibition against unreasonable restraints of trade. Johnathan Rubin, an attorney for the plaintiffs said, "Visa and Mastercard are the ringleaders, organizers, and enforcers of a conspiracy among U.S. banks to fix the price of ATM access fees in order to keep the competition at bay."<ref name="ATM">{{cite press release |title=ATM Operators File Antitrust Lawsuit Against Visa and MasterCard |publisher=PR Newswire |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/atm-operators-file-antitrust-lawsuit-against-visa-and-mastercard-131605078.html}}</ref>

=== Oceania ===
In 2003, the [[Reserve Bank of Australia]] required that interchange fees be dramatically reduced, from about 0.95% of the transaction to approximately 0.5%.{{Citation needed}} One notable result has been the reduced use of [[Loyalty program|reward cards]] and increased use of debit cards. Australia also prohibited the no surcharge rule, a policy established by credit card networks like Visa and Mastercard to prevent merchants from charging a credit card usage fee to the cardholder. A surcharge would mitigate or even exceed the merchant discount paid by a merchant, but would also make the cardholder more reluctant to use the card as the method of payment. Australia has also made changes to the interchange rates on debit cards and has considered abolishing interchange fees altogether.

As of November 2006, [[New Zealand]] was considering similar actions, following a [[Crown entity|Commerce Commission]] lawsuit alleging price-fixing by Visa and Mastercard. In New Zealand, merchants pay a 1.8% fee on every credit card transaction.{{Citation needed}}

=== Europe ===
The [[European Union]] has repeatedly criticized Mastercard for monopolistic trade practices. In April 2009, Mastercard reached a settlement with the European Union in an antitrust case, promising to reduce debit card swipe fees to 0.2 percent of purchases.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Antitrust: Commissioner Kroes takes note of MasterCard's decision to cut cross-border Multilateral Interchange Fees (MIFs) and to repeal recent scheme fee increases |url=https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_09_515 |website=[[European Commission]] |access-date=September 27, 2020 }}</ref> In December 2010, a senior official from the European Central Bank called for a break-up of the Visa/Mastercard duopoly by the creation of a new European debit card for use in the [[Single Euro Payments Area]] (SEPA).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.forexhound.com/article/Central_Banks/ECB_Publications/ECB_SEPA_a_busy_year_is_coming_to_its_end_and_another_exciting_year_lies_ahead/258060/|title=Forexhound.com|access-date=December 12, 2010|archive-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007223505/http://www.forexhound.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[WikiLeaks]] published documents showing that American authorities lobbied [[Russia]] to defend the interests of Visa and Mastercard.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lepoint.fr/monde/wikileaks-en-russie-visa-et-mastercard-au-coeur-de-troublantes-revelations-08-12-2010-1272689_24.php|title=WIKILEAKS – En Russie, Visa et Mastercard au coeur de troublantes révélations|first=Pauline de Saint|last=Remy|website=Le Point}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=WikiLeaks cables: US "lobbied Russia on behalf of Visa and MasterCard" |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/08/wikileaks-us-russia-visa-mastercard |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> In response Mastercard blocked payments to WikiLeaks. Members of the [[European Parliament]] expressed concern that payments from European citizens to a European corporation could apparently be blocked by the United States, and called for a further reduction in the dominance of Visa and Mastercard in the European payment system.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dekker |first1=Vincent |title=Zorgen over dominantie Visa en Mastercard in Europa |trans-title=Concerns about Visa and Mastercard dominance in Europe |url=http://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/media-technologie/article3332240.ece/Zorgen_over_dominantie_Visa_en_Mastercard_in_Europa.html/ |access-date=April 14, 2022 |work=[[Trouw]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817022607/http://www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4324/Nieuws/article/detail/1800653/2010/12/09/Zorgen-over-dominantie-Visa-en-Mastercard-in-Europa.dhtml |archive-date=August 17, 2011 |language=nl}}</ref>

In 2013, Mastercard was under investigation by the European Union for the high fees it charged merchants to accept cards issued outside the EU, compared to cards issued in the EU, as well as other anti-competitive practices that could hinder electronic commerce and international trade, and high fees associated with premium credit cards. The EU's competition regulator said that these fees were of special concern because of the growing role of non-cash payments. Mastercard was banned from charging fees on cross-border transactions conducted wholly within the EU via a ruling by the European Commission in 2007.<ref name="Euro">{{cite news |last1=Chee |first1=Foo Yun |title=MasterCard under EU fire over payment card fees |url=http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2013/04/09/mastercard-under-eu-fire-over-payment-card-fees/ |access-date=September 27, 2020 |work=[[Fox Business]] |agency=[[Reuters]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130629074634/http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2013/04/09/mastercard-under-eu-fire-over-payment-card-fees/ |archive-date=June 29, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{cbignore|bot=InternetArchiveBot}} The European Commission said that their investigation also included large differences in fees across national borders. For instance, a €50 payment might cost €0.10 in the Netherlands but eight times that amount in Poland. The Commission argues that Mastercard rules that prohibit merchants from enjoying better terms offered in other EU countries may be against antitrust law.

The [[The European Consumer Organisation|European Consumer Organisation]] (BEUC) praised the action against Mastercard. BEUC said interbank fees push up prices and hurt consumers. BEUC Director General Monique Goyens said, "So in the end, all consumers are hit by a scheme which ultimately rewards the card company and issuing bank."<ref name="Euro" />

In January 2019, the European Commission imposed an antitrust fine of €570,566,000 to Mastercard for "obstructing merchants' access to cross-border card payment services", due to Mastercard's rules obliging acquiring banks to apply the [[interchange fee]]s of the country where a retailer was located. The Commission concluded that Mastercard's rules prevented retailers from benefitting from lower fees and restricted competition between banks cross border, in breach of [[European Union competition law|EU antitrust rules]]. The infringement of antitrust rules ended when Mastercard amended its rules due to the entering into force of the Interchange Fee Regulation in 2015, which introduced caps on interchange fees. The Commission did grant Mastercard a 10% reduction of the fine however, in return for Mastercard acknowledging the facts and cooperating with the antitrust investigation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-582_en.htm|title=Antitrust: Commission fines Mastercard €570 million for obstructing merchants' access to cross-border card payment services|website=europa.eu|publisher=[[European Commission]]|location=Brussels|access-date=January 23, 2019}}</ref>

In February 2021, following an investigation by the British [[Financial Conduct Authority#Payment Systems Regulator|Payment Systems Regulator]], Mastercard admitted liability for breaching competition rules in relation to pre-paid cards.<ref>{{cite web |title=The PSR provisionally finds five companies broke the law by engaging in cartel behaviour in the pre-paid cards market |url=https://www.psr.org.uk/news-updates/latest-news/news/the-psr-provisionally-finds-five-companies-broke-the-law-by-engaging-in-cartel-behaviour-in-the-pre-paid-cards-market/ |website=[[Payment Systems Regulator|UK Payment Systems Regulator]]}}</ref>

== Other issues ==

=== United States internet gambling transactions ===
Mastercard, Visa, and other credit cards have been used to fund accounts since [[online gambling]] began in the mid-1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Internet Gambling: An Overview of the Issues |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-89/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-89.htm |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=govinfo.gov |language=en-US}}</ref>

On March 20, 2000, the [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana]], reviewed motions in ''Re: MasterCard International Inc.'' regarding multi-district litigation alleging Mastercard illegally interacted with a number of internet casinos. The plaintiffs alleged, among other claims, that Mastercard had violated the [[Federal Wire Act]]. They sought financial relief for losses suffered at online gambling sites outside the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana - 132 F. Supp. 2d 468 (E.D. La. 2001) February 23, 2001 |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/132/468/2457243/ |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=law.justia.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

The District Court's ruling on February 23, 2001, later upheld by the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]], sided with Mastercard. The Firth Circuit also clarified the application of the Wire Act to illegal online gambling. The Court determined that the wire act only applied to gambling activities related to a "sporting event or contest". Therefore, the court could not conclude that Mastercard had violated the Wire Act.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Off the Board: NCAA v. Christie Challenges Congress to "Move the Line" on the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act |url=https://www.pennstatelawreview.org/118/2/4%20-%20Malagrino%20(final).pdf |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=pennstatelawreview.org |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123150022/https://www.pennstatelawreview.org/118/2/4%20-%20Malagrino%20%28final%29.pdf |archive-date=November 23, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

When PASPA was overturned May 14, 2018, Mastercard had to provide new guidance to its member banks. It clarified that state location restrictions apply to the individual placing the wager, not the member bank processing the transaction. According to various state gaming laws, sports betting providers must use [[Internet geolocation]] to determine a customer's physical location prior to accepting a wager.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mastercard Sports Betting Sites |url=https://www.sportsbetting3.com/sportsbooks/sports-betting-sites-that-accept-mastercard#history |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=sportsbetting3.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The [[Independent Community Bankers of America]] specifically requested information about a new online gambling [[merchant category code]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mastercard FAQ – Sports Gambling |url=https://www.icba.org/docs/default-source/bancard-(public)/mastercard-faq_sports-gambling.pdf?sfvrsn=8494b17_2 |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=icba.org |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025143301/https://www.icba.org/docs/default-source/bancard-(public)/mastercard-faq_sports-gambling.pdf?sfvrsn=8494b17_2 |archive-date=2022-10-25 |url-status=live }}</ref> Mastercard has dedicated MCC 7801 to online gambling. This code is distinct from 7800 for government owned lotteries and 7802 for government licensed horse and dog tracks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mastercard Quick Reference Booklet - Merchant |url=https://www.mastercard.us/content/dam/mccom/global/documents/quick-reference-booklet-merchant.pdf |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=mastercard.us |language=en-US |archive-date=May 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531042619/https://www.mastercard.us/content/dam/mccom/global/documents/quick-reference-booklet-merchant.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Blocking payments to WikiLeaks ===
In December 2010, Mastercard blocked all payments to whistleblowing platform [[WikiLeaks]] due to claims that they engage in illegal activity.<ref>McCullagh, Declan. (December 9, 2010) [http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20024776-281.html MasterCard pulls plug on WikiLeaks payments | Privacy Inc. – CNET News] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229214628/http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20024776-281.html }}. news.cnet.com. Retrieved July 13, 2011.</ref> In response, a group of online activists [[Anonymous (hacker group)|Anonymous]] organized a [[denial-of-service attack]]; as a result, the Mastercard website experienced [[downtime]] on December 8–9, 2010.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Addley |first1=Esther |title=MasterCard site partially frozen by hackers in WikiLeaks "revenge"; "Operation: Payback" hacks into MasterCard site over payment network's decision to cease taking donations to WikiLeaks |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/dec/08/mastercard-hackers-wikileaks-revenge |access-date=April 14, 2022 |work=[[The Guardian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920212815/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/dec/08/mastercard-hackers-wikileaks-revenge |archive-date=September 20, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> On December 9, 2010, the servers of Mastercard underwent a massive attack<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/08/mastercard_downed_by_hackers/|title=Mastercard downed by Anon-Assange-fans|work=[[The Register]]}}</ref> as part of an [[Operation Payback#Operation Avenge Assange|Operation Avenge Assange]] for closing down payments to WikiLeaks. The security of thousands of credit cards was compromised during that attack due to a phishing-site set up by the attackers.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/08/mastercard-deemed-unsafe-_n_794164.html|title=MasterCard Deemed Unsafe? "Anonymous" WikiLeaks Supporters Claim Privacy Breach|work=Huffington Post|access-date=July 13, 2011}}</ref> However, Mastercard denied this, stating that account data had "not been placed at risk".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/technology-11935539 |work=BBC News | title=Wikileaks "data war" gathers pace | date=December 7, 2010}}</ref> WikiLeaks' spokesman said, "We neither condemn nor applaud these attacks."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wikileaks.ch/articles/2010/Statement-on-DDOS-attacks.html |title= Statement on DDOS attacks|website=wikileaks.ch |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210081025/http://wikileaks.ch/articles/2010/Statement-on-DDOS-attacks.html |archive-date=December 10, 2010}}</ref> U.N. [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|High Commissioner for Human Rights]] [[Navi Pillay]] said that closing down credit lines for donations to WikiLeaks "could be interpreted as an attempt to censor the publication of information, thus potentially violating WikiLeaks' right to freedom of expression".<ref>{{cite web |title=UN rights chief concerned about pressure on WikiLeaks |url=http://www.expatica.com/ch/news/swiss-news/un-rights-chief-concerned-about-pressure-on-wikileaks_116334.html |website=[[Expatica|Expatica Switzerland]] |access-date=April 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104103235/http://www.expatica.com/ch/news/swiss-news/un-rights-chief-concerned-about-pressure-on-wikileaks_116334.html |archive-date=January 4, 2014 |agency=[[Agence France-Presse|AFP]] |url-status=unfit}}</ref>

In July 2011, [[Iceland]]-based IT firm DataCell, the company that enabled WikiLeaks to accept credit and debit card donations, said it would take legal action against Visa Europe and Mastercard,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Legal action by DataCell and WikiLeaks against Visa and MasterCard |url=http://www.datacell.com/news/2011-07-02/legal_action_by_datacell_and_wikileaks_against_visa_and_mastercard |access-date=2011-07-13 |website=DataCell |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724154451/http://www.datacell.com/news/2011-07-02/legal_action_by_datacell_and_wikileaks_against_visa_and_mastercard/ |archive-date=2012-07-24}}</ref> and that it would move immediately to try to force the two companies to resume allowing payments to the website.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Visa and MasterCard again suspending donations to WikiLeaks {{!}} RSF |url=https://rsf.org/en/visa-and-mastercard-again-suspending-donations-wikileaks |access-date=2022-11-15 |website=rsf.org |date=July 8, 2011 |language=en}}</ref> Earlier on December 8, 2010, DataCell's CEO Andreas Fink had stated that "suspension of payments towards WikiLeaks is a violation of the agreements with their customers."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=A. O. L. |title=MasterCard and Visa May Face Legal Battle Over WikiLeaks |url=https://www.aol.com/2010/12/09/mastercard-and-visa-may-face-legal-battle-over-wikileaks/ |access-date=2022-11-15 |website=www.aol.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sayer |first=Peter |title=Visa blocks WikiLeaks donations via DataCell once again |url=https://www.networkworld.com/article/2179052/visa-blocks-wikileaks-donations-via-datacell-once-again.html |access-date=2022-11-15 |website=Network World |language=en}}</ref> On July 14, 2011, DataCell announced they had filed a complaint with the [[European Commission]] claiming the closure by Visa and Mastercard of Datacell's access to the payment card networks violated the competition rules of the European Community.<ref>"[http://www.datacell.com/news/2011-07-14/datacell_files_a_complaint_with_the_european_commission/ DataCell files a complaint with the European Commission] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106053317/http://www.datacell.com/news/2011-07-14/datacell_files_a_complaint_with_the_european_commission/ }}", datacell.com, July 14, 2011. Retrieved 5 Augusti 2012.</ref>

On July 12, 2012, a [[Reykjavík]] court ruled that [[Valitor]], Visa and Mastercard's partner in Iceland, had to start processing donations within fourteen days<ref>"[http://www.svt.se/nyheter/varlden/tvingas-oppna-for-wikileaksdonationer Tvingas öppna för Wikileaksdonationer] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715073152/http://www.svt.se/nyheter/varlden/tvingas-oppna-for-wikileaksdonationer }}" {{in lang|sv}} [[Sveriges Television]], July 12, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.</ref> or pay daily fines to the amount of ISK 800,000 (some $6000) for each day after that time, to open the payment gateway. Valitor also had to pay DataCell's litigation costs of ISK 1,500,000.<ref>"[http://www.fink.org/FILES/translated-judgment-valitor.pdf Judgement Reykjavík District Court, 12 July 2012 in case number E-561/2012: Datacell ehf.]", English translation of judgment. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140210061023/http://www.fink.org/FILES/translated-judgment-valitor.pdf }}. Retrieved November 9, 2012.</ref><ref>[https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/07/wikileaks-visa-blockade/ WikiLeaks Wins Icelandic Court Battle Against Visa for Blocking Donations | Threat Level]. Wired.com.</ref>

===Corporate branding of all Nigerian identity cards===
In 2014, pursuant to an agreement between Mastercard and the [[Federal government of Nigeria|Nigerian Government]], acting through the National Identity Management Commission, the new Nigerian [[Identity document|ID cards]] bear the Mastercard logo, contain personal database data and double as [[payment card]]s, irrevocably linking such payments to the individuals,<ref>{{cite news|title=SCANDALOUS: Outrage in Nigeria as government brands National ID Card with MasterCard's logo|url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/featured-news/167479-scandalous-outrage-in-nigeria-as-government-brands-national-id-card-with-mastercards-logo.html|agency=Premium Times|quote=President Jonathan, who flagged off the rollout, praised the outcome of a partnership between NIMC, MasterCard and Access Bank. "The card is not only a means of certifying your identity but also a personal database repository and payment card, all in your pocket," Mr. Jonathan said.}}</ref> sparking criticism by the [[Human rights in Nigeria|Civil Rights Congress]] alleging that it "represents a stamped ownership of a Nigerian by an American company ... reminiscent of the logo pasted on the bodies of African slaves transported across the Atlantic."<ref>{{cite news|title=SCANDALOUS: Outrage in Nigeria as government brands National ID Card with MasterCard's logo|url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/featured-news/167479-scandalous-outrage-in-nigeria-as-government-brands-national-id-card-with-mastercards-logo.html|agency=Premium Times|quote="The new ID card with a MasterCard logo does not represent an identity of a Nigerian. It simply represents a stamped ownership of a Nigerian by an American company," said [[Shehu Sani]] of the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria. "It is reminiscent of the logo pasted on the bodies of African {{Sic|salves}} transported across the Atlantic."}}</ref>

===Selling of credit card data===
In 2018, ''[[Bloomberg News]]'' reported that [[Google]] had paid millions of dollars to Mastercard for its users' credit card data for advertising purposes. The deal had not been publicly announced.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Liao |first1=Shannon |title=Google reportedly bought Mastercard data to link online ads with offline purchases |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/30/17801880/google-mastercard-data-online-ads-offline-purchase-history-privacy |website=[[The Verge]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Google and Mastercard Cut a Secret Ad Deal to Track Retail Sales |language=en |website=[[Bloomberg.com]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-30/google-and-mastercard-cut-a-secret-ad-deal-to-track-retail-sales}}</ref>

=== Regulatory ban In India ===
On July 14, 2021, the [[Reserve Bank of India]] (RBI) indefinitely barred Mastercard from issuing new debit or credit cards to domestic Indian customers starting July 22, 2021, for violating [[data localization]] and storage rules as set by RBI on April 6, 2018, under [[Payment and settlement systems in India|Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSS Act)]]. This ban does not affect cards already issued and working in India. Mastercard is the third major [[Payment service provider|payment systems provider]] to be restricted in India after [[American Express]] and [[Diners Club International]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Mastercard India news: RBI restricts Mastercard from onboarding new customers in India {{!}} India Business News – Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/rbi-restricts-mastercard-asia-from-onboarding-new-customers/articleshow/84409085.cms |access-date=2022-03-06 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref> On June 16, 2022, the business restrictions imposed were lifted by RBI with immediate effect.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reserve Bank of India - Press Releases |url=https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=53877 |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=www.rbi.org.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=RBI lifts business restrictions imposed on Mastercard |url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/rbi-lifts-business-restrictions-imposed-on-mastercard-8696741.html |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=Moneycontrol |language=en}}</ref>

== Products ==
Depending on the geographical location, Mastercard issuers can issue cards in tiers, from the lowest to the highest, Traditional/Classic/Standard, Gold/Titanium, Platinum, World and World Elite.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/the-three-levels-of-mastercard-standard-world-and-world-elite/ The Three Types of Mastercard: Here's The Difference Between Standard, World and World Elite]</ref>

Through a partnership with an Internet company that specializes in personalized shopping, Mastercard introduced a Web shopping mall on April 16, 2010, that it said can pinpoint with considerable accuracy what its cardholders are likely to purchase.<ref>{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Andrew |title=MasterCard Set to Open an Online Shopping Mall |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/business/09credit.html}}</ref>

In September 2014 Mastercard worked with [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] to incorporate a new mobile wallet feature into Apple's new iPhone and Apple Watch models known as [[Apple Pay]], enabling users to more readily use their Mastercard, and other credit cards.<ref name="iPhoneWallet">{{cite news |title=Apple teams with payment networks to turn iPhone into wallet |publisher=SanDiegoNews.net |url=http://www.sandiegonews.net/index.php/sid/225274025 |access-date=September 1, 2014}}</ref>

In May 2020, Mastercard announced the Mastercard Track Business Payment Service. The service will provide business-to-business payments between buyers and suppliers. According to the head of global commercial products, it "creates a directory of suppliers, enabling suppliers to publish their payment rules so they can better control how they receive payments while making it easier for buyers to find suppliers and understand their requirements".<ref>{{cite web |last=Keyes |first=Daniel |title=Mastercard launches its B2B payments service |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/mastercard-track-business-payment-service-will-help-b2b-payments-2020-5 |access-date=May 13, 2020 |publisher=[[Business Insider]]}}</ref>

On February 10, 2021, Mastercard announced their support of [[cryptocurrency|cryptocurrencies]] saying that later in 2021, Mastercard will start supporting select cryptocurrencies directly on their network. One of the main focus areas that Mastercard wants to support is using digital assets for payments, and that crypto assets will need to offer the stability people need in a vehicle for spending, not investment.<ref name="CNN 2021-02-11">{{cite news |title=Bitcoin's big moment: Mastercard jumps on the bandwagon |work=[[CNN]] |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/11/investing/mastercard-bitcoin-bny-mellon/index.html |access-date=2021-02-11}}</ref><ref name="Mastercard 2021-02-10">{{cite news |title=Why Mastercard is bringing crypto onto its network |work=MasterCard |url=https://www.mastercard.com/news/perspectives/2021/why-mastercard-is-bringing-crypto-onto-our-network/ |access-date=2021-02-11}}</ref> In October 2021, Mastercard announced that through its partnership with [[Bakkt]], any bank or merchant on its network would soon be able to offer crypto services.<ref>{{cite web |last=Son |first=Hugh |title=Mastercard says any bank or merchant on its vast network can soon offer crypto services |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/25/mastercard-says-any-bank-or-merchant-on-its-vast-network-can-soon-offer-crypto-services.html |access-date=2021-11-28 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref> In June 2022, Mastercard announced that it would now be allowing cardholders to purchase NFTs via various NFT scaling platforms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mastercard Now Allowing Cardholders to Buy NFTs on Several Marketplaces |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mastercard-now-allowing-cardholders-buy-203115184.html |access-date=2022-06-10 |website=finance.yahoo.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Prepaid debit cards===
Mastercard, [[Comerica|Comerica Bank]], and the U.S. Treasury Department teamed up in 2008 to create the Direct Express Debit Mastercard. The federal government uses the Express Debit product to issue electronic payments to [[Unbanked|people who do not have bank accounts]]. Comerica Bank is the issuing bank for the debit card.

The Direct Express cards give recipients a number of [[consumer protection]]s.

In June 2013, Mastercard announced a partnership with [[British Airways]] to offer members the Executive Club Multi-currency Cash Passport, which will allow members to earn extra points and make multi-currency payments. The Passport card allows users to load up to ten currencies ([[euro]], [[Pound sterling|pound]], U.S. dollar, Turkish lira, Swiss franc, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, New Zealand dollar, U.A.E. dirham, and South African rand) at a locked-in rate. When used, the card selects the local currency to ensure the best [[exchange rate]], and if the local currency is not already loaded onto the card, funds are used from other currencies.{{citation needed}}

=== QkR ===
QkR is a mobile payment app developed by Mastercard operating in the US and Australia for the purpose of ordering products and services through a [[smartphone]] with payments charged to the associated [[credit card]]. It is being deployed for use in large-scale events, such as sport events, concerts, movie theaters or schools. Unlike other Mastercard mobile payment apps such as Pay Pass, QkR does not use [[Near-field communication|NFC]] from the phone, but rather an Internet connection.

Users can open the app, scan a [[QR code]] located on the back of the seat in front of them, and place orders for refreshments of their choice.<ref>{{cite web |title=MasterCard's QkR mobile payment system enters trial in Australia |url=https://www.engadget.com/2012/01/27/mastercards-qkr-mobile-payment-system-enters-trial-in-australia/ |access-date=January 26, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=MasterCard starts piloting QkR mobile payment app |url=http://gigaom.com/2012/01/26/mastercard-starts-piloting-qkr-mobile-payment-app/ |access-date=January 26, 2014}}</ref> The order is dispatched to a nearby concession stand.

QkR is being marketed to vendors as a replacement for other mobile payment apps and a mobile ordering app, either distributed by the vendor (such as [[Starbucks]]'s app, [[McDonald's]]' app, or [[Chipotle Mexican Grill|Chipotle]]'s mobile ordering app) or by a third party, such as [[Block, Inc.|Square]], headed by [[Twitter]] cofounder [[Jack Dorsey]].

=== Mastercard Contactless ===
[[File:EMVCoContactlessIndicator.svg|50px|right]]
Mastercard Contactless (formerly branded PayPass<ref>{{cite web |title=ALERT: Due to licensing changes and rebranding efforts, the Mastercard Contactless (formerly known as PayPass) documentation has been moved |url=https://www.paypass.com/documentation.html/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508030741/https://www.paypass.com/documentation.html |archive-date=May 8, 2015 |work=Mastercard}}</ref>) is an [[EMV]]-compatible, [[contactless payment]] feature similar to American Express' [[American Express#ExpressPay|ExpressPay]], and Visa Contactless. All three use the same symbol as shown on the right. It is based on the [[ISO/IEC 14443]] standard that provides cardholders with a simpler way to pay by tapping a payment card or other payment device, such as a phone or key fob, on a point-of-sale terminal reader rather than swiping or inserting a card. Contactless can currently be used on transactions up to and including 100 [[Pound sterling|GBP]], 50 [[Euro|EUR]], 80 [[Swiss Francs|CHF]], 50 [[United States dollar|USD]], 100 [[Canadian dollar|CAD]], 200 [[Swedish krona|SEK]], 500 [[Norwegian krone|NOK]], 100 [[Polish zloty|PLN]], 350 [[Danish krone|DKK]], 80 [[New Zealand Dollar|NZD]], 100 [[Australian dollar|AUD]], 1000 [[Russian ruble|RUB]], 500 [[Ukrainian hryvnia|UAH]], 500 [[Turkish lira|TRY]] depending on the card's currency rather than the transaction currency<ref>{{cite web |title=Temassız Şifre Limiti Yenilendi;Temassız kartlarda şifresiz işlem limiti 500 TL'ye yükseltildi |trans-title=Contactless Password Limit Renewed; Unencrypted transaction limit for contactless cards increased to 500 Turkish lira |url=https://bkm.com.tr/temassiz-sifre-limiti-yenilendi/ |access-date=2022-03-19 |website=[[:tr:Bankalararası Kart Merkezi]] |language=tr}}</ref> or 2000 [[Indian rupee|INR]].

[[File:Paypass chip front.png|thumb|100px|left|PayPass [[Radio-frequency identification|RFID]] chip]]
[[File:Puce miniature Mastercard paiement sans contact.jpg|thumb|Holder with a miniature [[Mastercard#Prepaid debit cards|prepaid]] contactless payment card of the French neobank [[Anytime SA|anytime]]]]

In 2003, Mastercard concluded a nine-month PayPass market trial in [[Orlando, Florida]], with [[JPMorgan Chase]], [[Citibank]], and [[MBNA]]. More than 16,000 cardholders and more than 60 retailer locations participated in the market trial.{{update inline}} In addition, Mastercard worked with [[Nokia]] and the [[Nokia 6131]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Nokia 6131 NFC – touch to pay credit card mobile phones start trickling onto the market |url=https://www.redferret.net/?p=9628}}</ref> [[AT&T Mobility|AT&T Wireless]], and JPMorgan Chase to incorporate Mastercard PayPass into mobile phones using [[near-field communication]] technology, in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]]. In 2011, [[Google]] and Mastercard launched [[Google Pay Send|Google Wallet]], an [[Android (operating system)|Android]] application which allows a mobile device to send credit/debit card information directly to a Paypass-enabled payment terminal, bypassing the need for a physical card, up until the creation of [[Google Pay (payment method)|Google Pay]]. In 2014, the Apple company released [[Apple Pay]].

During late 2015, Citicards in the US stopped issuing Paypass-enabled plastic, but the keyfob was still available upon request. Effective July 16, 2016, Citicards stopped supporting Paypass completely. While existing plastic and keyfobs continued to work until their expiration date, no new Paypass-enabled hardware was issued to US customers after that date.

=== Crypto ===
In April 2023, Mastercard announced its intention to expand its partnerships with cryptocurrency firms. At the time of the announcement, the firm had already partnered with [[Binance]], Nexo, and [[Gemini (company)|Gemini]] to offer cards linked to crypto in some nations. This was despite an increasingly intense regulatory environment, and it followed rival company [[Visa Inc.|Visa]] stopping its agreement with [[FTX]] in November 2022. The company said its Mastercard Crypto Credential service would allow for transactions between countries that met requirements like so-called "travel rule" by the [[Financial Action Task Force|Financial Action Task Force (FATF)]], using technology from CipherTrace. It also worked with wallet providers Bit2Me, Lirium, Mercado Bitcoin, and Uphold. Its head of crypto and blockchain, Raj Dhamodharan, said uses for NFT transactions would come later on.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Howcroft |first1=Elizabeth |title=Mastercard seeks to expand crypto card tie-ups |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/mastercard-seeks-expand-crypto-card-tie-ups-2023-04-28/ |access-date=2023-04-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mastercard aims to boost trust for blockchain transactions |url=https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/42236/mastercard-aims-to-boost-trust-for-blockchain-transactions |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=Finextra Research |language=en}}</ref>

==Brand==
Mastercard is associated with security and is believed to be reliable in emergencies. Antitrust litigation over the years has damaged the brand.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Table Mountain, Cape Town (MP) 2018 241.jpg|left|thumb|[[Table Mountain Aerial Cableway|Table Mountain cablecar]], 2018]]
Mastercard's current advertising campaign tagline is [[Priceless (advertising campaign)|''Priceless'']]. It started in 1997. The slogan associated with the campaign is ''There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's Mastercard.'' The Priceless campaign in more recent iterations has been applicable to both Mastercard's credit card and [[debit card]] products. They also use the ''Priceless'' description to promote products such as their ''priceless travel'' site, which features deals and offers for Mastercard holders,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mastercard.co.uk/travel/|title=Priceless Travel|website=MasterCard UK|access-date=July 13, 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905121829/http://www.mastercard.co.uk/travel/home.html|archive-date=September 5, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> and ''priceless cities,'' offers for people in specified locations.<ref>[http://www.mastercard.co.uk/priceless-cities/london/ MasterCard Priceless Cities] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130421042017/http://www.mastercard.co.uk/priceless-cities/london/ }}. Mastercard.co.uk (August 30, 2012).</ref>

In mid-2006, MasterCard International changed its name to MasterCard Worldwide. This was to suggest a more global scale. In addition, the company introduced a new corporate logo adding a third circle to the two that had been used in the past (the familiar card logo, resembling a [[Venn diagram]], remained unchanged). A new corporate tagline was introduced at the same time—''The Heart of Commerce''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Loomis |first=Jay |title=MasterCard changing name |newspaper=[[The Journal News]] |location=White Plains, NY |url=http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060628/BUSINESS01/606280347&SearchID=73249164236337 |access-date=July 5, 2006}}</ref>

In July 2016, Mastercard introduced their new rebranding, along with a new corporate logo. In addition, they changed their service name from "MasterCard" to "mastercard".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Olenski |first=Steve |title=The Story Behind Mastercard's New Logo |language=en |work=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2016/07/14/the-story-behind-mastercards-new-logo/#d215b827198c |access-date=May 7, 2018}}</ref>

In January 2019, Mastercard removed its name from its logo, leaving just the overlapping discs.<ref>{{cite news |last=Diaz |first=Ann-Christine |title=From "Priceless" to Wordless: In dropping the moniker from its brandmark, Mastercard highlights the pitfalls and positives of going name-free |volume=90 |page=20 |work=[[Advertising Age]] |issue=2}}</ref>

In 2021, Mastercard was ranked number 13 on [[Morning Consult]]'s list of most trusted brands.<ref>{{cite web |title=Morning Consult's Most Trusted Brands 2021 |url=https://morningconsult.com/most-trusted-brands-2021/ |access-date=2021-05-31 |website=Morning Consult |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Sports sponsorships ===
Mastercard sponsors major sporting events and teams throughout the world. These include rugby's [[New Zealand national rugby union team|New Zealand]], the [[Major League Baseball|MLB]], the [[UEFA Champions League]] and the [[PGA Tour]]'s [[Arnold Palmer Invitational]]. Previously, it also sponsored the [[FIFA World Cup]] but withdrew its contract after a court settlement and its rival, Visa, took up the contract in 2007.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6247928.stm Visa signs $170m deal with Fifa]. BBC News (June 28, 2007). Retrieved July 13, 2011.</ref> In 1997, Mastercard was the main sponsor of the [[MasterCard Lola|Mastercard Lola]] Formula One team,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Collins |first=S. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gjnG3j5hOEwC&q=Master+card+the+main+sponsor+of+Mastercard+lola+Formula+one+1997&pg=PA40 |title=Unraced...: Formula One's Lost Cars |publisher=Veloce Publishing Ltd |isbn=9781845840846 |language=en}}</ref> which withdrew from the [[1997 Formula One World Championship|1997 Formula One season]] after [[1997 Australian Grand Prix|its first race]] due to financial problems.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bring Back V10s Podcast: Lola's disastrous 1997 F1 team |url=https://the-race.com/formula-1/bring-back-v10s-podcast-lolas-disastrous-1997-f1-team/ |website=The Race |publisher=The Race Media |access-date=11 February 2021}}</ref> It also partners the [[Brazil national football team]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Portal CBF |url=https://www.cbf.com.br/ |access-date=2019-06-15 |website=Confederação Brasileira de Futebol |language=pt-BR}}</ref> and the [[Copa Libertadores]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Copa Libertadores – Noticias, marcadores en vivo, resultados y partidos {{!}} Copa Libertadores |url=https://www.copalibertadores.com/es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230215225/https://www.copalibertadores.com/es |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |access-date=2019-06-15 |website=www.copalibertadores.com |language=es}}</ref>

Mastercard was also the title sponsor for the [[Alamo Bowl]] game from 2002 until 2005.

In late 2018, Mastercard became the first major sponsor for ''[[League of Legends]]'' esports. The company sponsors the [[League of Legends World Championship]], [[Mid-Season Invitational]], and the All-stars event for ''League of Legends''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mastercard signs with League of Legends as first global partner of the world's largest esport |url=https://newsroom.mastercard.com/eu/press-releases/mastercard-signs-with-league-of-legends-as-first-global-partner-of-the-worlds-largest-esport/ |access-date=September 19, 2018 |website=Mastercard Newsroom}}</ref>

Until 2018, Mastercard was the sponsor of the [[Memorial Cup]], the [[Canadian Hockey League|CHL]]'s annual championship between its three leagues.

In September 2022, Mastercard acquired the title sponsorship rights for all international and domestic home matches organized by the [[Board of Control for Cricket in India|Board of Cricket Control in India]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mastercard acquires title sponsorship rights for all BCCI international and domestic home matches |url=https://www.bcci.tv/articles/2022/news/55555921/mastercard-acquires-title-sponsorship-rights-for-all-bcci-international-and-domestic-home-matches |access-date=2022-09-05 |website=www.bcci.tv |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mastercard Acquires Title Sponsorship Rights For All BCCI International, Domestic Home Matches {{!}} Cricket News |url=https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/mastercard-acquires-title-sponsorship-rights-for-all-bcci-international-domestic-home-matches-3317028 |access-date=2022-09-05 |website=NDTVSports.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Corporate affairs==

Mastercard has its headquarters in the [[Mastercard International Global Headquarters]] in [[Purchase, New York|Purchase]], New York.<ref>"[http://www.mastercard.com/us/company/en/newsroom/contact_mc.html Contact Us]." MasterCard. Retrieved February 2, 2011. "MasterCard Advisors 2000 Purchase Street Purchase, NY 10577."</ref> The Global Operations Center is located in [[O'Fallon, Missouri|O'Fallon]], a suburb of [[St. Louis]], Missouri.

Mastercard was listed as one of the best companies to work for in 2013 by [[Forbes]].<ref name="forbes_best_places_to_work_2013">{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Jacquelyn |title=The Best Companies To Work For In 2013 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/12/12/the-best-companies-to-work-for-in-2013/#36aa1224119a |access-date=November 10, 2017 |website=[[Forbes]]}}</ref> In 2016, Mastercard UK became one of 144 companies who signed the [[HM Treasury]]'s Women in Finance Charter, a pledge for balanced gender representation in the company.<ref name="women in finance charter">{{cite web |last1=Chinwala |first1=Yasmine |last2=Spaarwater |first2=Esther |last3=Asimakopoulos |first3=Panagiotis |title=HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter: Leading the Way |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/577074/new_financial_analysis_women_in_finance_harter_leading_the_way__12_Dec_2016_.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711091611/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/577074/new_financial_analysis_women_in_finance_harter_leading_the_way__12_Dec_2016_.pdf |archive-date=July 11, 2018 |access-date=July 10, 2018 |website=gov.uk}}</ref>

=== Management and board of directors ===
Key executives include:<ref>{{cite web |title=Executive Management |url=http://investorrelations.mastercardintl.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=148835&p=irol-govmanage |website=Mastercard Worldwide Investor Relations |access-date=2020-03-25 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629153035/http://investorrelations.mastercardintl.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=148835&p=irol-govmanage |archive-date=2012-06-29 |url-status=unfit}}</ref>{{cbignore|bot=InternetArchiveBot}}

{{div col|colwidth=35em}}
* Michael Miebach: president and chief executive officer
* Walt Macnee: vice chairman
* Robert Reeg: president – global technology & operations
* Raja Rajamannar: [[chief marketing officer]] – global marketing
* Gary Flood: president – products & services
* Noah Hanft: [[general counsel]], chief franchise officer and corporate president
* Michael Fraccaro: [[chief human resources officer]]
* Chris McWilton: president – North American markets
* Ann Cairns: president – international markets
* Javier Perez: president – Europe
* Kevin Stanton: Chief Transformation Officer
* Ari Sarker: president – Asia-Pacific
* Betty Devita: president – Canada
* Gilberto Caldart: president – Latin America & Caribbean
{{div col end}}

Prior to its IPO in 2006, Mastercard was an association that had a board of directors composed of banks. The current board of directors includes the following individuals:<ref>{{cite web |title=Board of Directors |url=https://investor.mastercard.com/corporate-governance/board-of-directors/default.aspx |website=MasterCard Worldwide Investor Relations |access-date=2023-05-24 }}</ref>{{cbignore|bot=InternetArchiveBot}}
*[[Merit Janow]], Non-Executive Chair, and Dean Emerita, [[School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University]]<ref name="WTVB">{{cite news |last1=Nishant |first1=Niket |title=Mastercard chairman Banga to retire at year-end, Janow to head Board |url=https://wtvbam.com/2021/09/21/mastercard-chairman-banga-to-retire-at-year-end-janow-to-head-board/ |work=[[WTVB]] |agency=Reuters |language=en}}</ref>
*Candido Botelho Bracher, Former CEO, Itaú Unibanco Group, Independent Director
*Richard K. Davis Former Executive Chairman and CEO, U.S. Bancorp, Independent Director
*Julius Genachowski Managing Director, The Carlyle Group, Independent Director
*Choon Phong Goh, CEO, Singapore Airlines Limited, Independent Director
*Oki Matsumoto, Founder, chairman and CEO, Monex Group, Inc., Independent Director
*Michael Miebach, President and CEO, Mastercard
*Youngme Moon, Donald K. David Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, Independent Director
*Rima Qureshi, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Verizon Communications Inc., Independent Director
*Gabrielle Sulzberger Strategic Advisor, Two Sigma Impact, Independent Director
*Jackson Tai, Former Vice Chairman and CEO, DBS Group and DBS Bank Ltd., Independent Director
*Harit Talwar, Former Partner and chairman, Consumer Business (Marcus), Goldman Sachs, Independent Director
*Lance Uggla CEO, BeyondNetZero, Independent Director

==World Beyond Cash==
In 2017, CEO [[Ajay Banga]] reinforced the company's goal of extending financial services to those outside the current system by bringing digital payment systems to the unbanked around the world. The company invested $500M in [[India]] with offices in [[Pune]] and [[Vadodara]] to help Mastercard bring cashless transactions to the 2nd largest population in the world. The company also is scheduled to invest an additional $750M in cashless apps and technology, especially focused on India between 2017 and 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newsroom.mastercard.com/asia-pacific/press-releases/mastercard-reinforces-commitment-to-creating-a-world-beyond-cash/|title = Mastercard Reinforces Commitment to Creating a "World Beyond Cash"}}</ref>

==Banknet==

Mastercard operates Banknet, a global [[telecommunications network]] linking all Mastercard card issuers, acquirers, and data processing centers into a single financial network. The operations hub is located in St. Louis, [[Missouri]]. Banknet uses the [[ISO 8583]] protocol.

Mastercard's network differs significantly from [[Visa Inc.|Visa]]'s. Visa's is a star-based system where all endpoints terminate at one of several main data centers, where all transactions are processed centrally. Mastercard's network is an edge-based, peer-to-peer network where transactions travel a meshed network directly to other endpoints, without the need to travel to a single point. This allows Mastercard's network to be much more resilient, in that a single failure cannot isolate a large number of endpoints.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.mastercard.com/us/company/en/docs/virtual_private_network.pdf |title=Peer-to-Peer Network Architecture of Banknet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070326060638/http://www.mastercard.com/us/company/en/docs/virtual_private_network.pdf |archive-date=March 26, 2007 |url-status=dead }} Fact Sheet from MasterCard website. Retrieved April 4, 2013.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Companies|Electronics|Hudson Valley}}
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[RuPay]]
* [[Access (credit card)|Access]]
* [[Cirrus (interbank network)|Cirrus]]
* [[Damage waiver]]
* [[Entrust Bankcard Company|Entrust Bankcard]]
* [[Maestro (debit card)|Maestro]]
* [[3-D Secure]]
* [[Mondex]]
* [[Octopus card]]
* [[Payoneer]]
* [[Rede S.A.|Redecard]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}
* [https://investor.mastercard.com Corporate website]
{{Finance links
| name = Mastercard
| symbol = MA
| sec_cik = MA
| yahoo = MA
| google = MA
| stockrow = MA
}}

{{Credit cards}}
{{Thomson Reuters}}

[[Category:Mastercard| ]]
[[Category:Credit cards]]
[[Category:Credit card issuer associations]]
[[Category:Financial services companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Contactless smart cards]]
[[Category:Online payments]]
[[Category:Former cooperatives of the United States]]
[[Category:Multinational companies headquartered in the United States]]
[[Category:Financial services companies based in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Companies based in Purchase, New York]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1966]]
[[Category:Financial services companies established in 1966]]
[[Category:1966 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange]]
[[Category:2006 initial public offerings]]

Parsi

2023-03-01T01:27:22Z

Williamscott: Wrote an informative guide.

#REDIRECT [[Parsis]]

{{Rshell| {{R from adjective}} {{R from singular}} }}

Polygamy

2022-07-10T14:20:16Z

Williamscott: Drafted a new page.

{{Short description|Marriage to more than one spouse}}
{{for-multi|polygamy in animals|Animal sexual behaviour#Polygamy|polygamy in plants|Plant reproductive morphology|the racehorse|Polygamy (horse)}}{{Confused|Polyamory|Polysexuality}}{{Multiple issues|{{missing information|polygamy in history}}
{{missing information|polygamy in the Eastern (Orthodox, Coptic, Assyrian) churches}}}}

{{Use dmy dates}}

{{Anthropology of kinship | concepts}}

'''Polygamy''' (from [[Late Greek]] {{wikt-lang|grc|πολυγαμία}} (''{{grc-transl|πολυγαμία}}'') "state of marriage to many spouses")<ref name="Harper">{{OEtymD|polygamy}} {{Cite web |url=http://etymonline.com/?term=Polygamy |title=Polygamy | Etymology, origin and meaning of polygamy by etymonline |access-date=1 February 2016 |archive-date=1 February 2016 |archive-url=https://timetravel.mementoweb.org/memento/20160201154242/etymonline.com/?term=Polygamy |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{LSJ|polugami/a|πολυγαμία|ref}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |work= Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek | title= πολυγαμία | url= http://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang/modern_greek/tools/lexica/triantafyllides/search.html?lq=πολυγαμία | publisher= [[Center for the Greek Language]] | language= el |url-status= live | archive-url= https://archive.today/20160201152346/http://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang/modern_greek/tools/lexica/triantafyllides/search.html?lq=%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%BB%CF%85%CE%B3%CE%B1%CE%BC%CE%AF%CE%B1 | archive-date= 1 February 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title= Dictionary of Modern Greek | language= el | first= Georgios | last= Babiniotis | author-link= Georgios Babiniotis | chapter= s.v. πολυγαμία | publisher = Lexicology Centre | year= 2002 |title-link= Babiniotis dictionary }}</ref> is the practice of [[marriage|marry]]ing multiple [[spouse]]s. When a [[man]] is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this [[polygyny]]. When a [[woman]] is married to more than one husband at a time, it is called [[polyandry]].

In contrast to polygamy, [[monogamy]] is marriage consisting of only two parties. Like "monogamy", the term "polygamy" is often used in a ''[[de facto]]'' sense, applied regardless of whether a [[State (polity)|state]] recognizes the relationship.<ref group="note">For the extent to which states can and do recognize potentially and actual polygamous forms as valid, see [[Conflict of marriage laws]].</ref> In [[sociobiology]] and [[zoology]], researchers use ''polygamy'' in a broad sense to mean any form of multiple [[mating]]. In many countries, the law only recognises monogamous marriages (a person can only have one spouse, and [[bigamy]] is illegal), but [[adultery]] is not illegal, leading to a situation of ''de facto'' polygamy being allowed without legal recognition for non-official "spouses".

Worldwide, different societies variously encourage, accept or outlaw polygamy. In societies which allow or tolerate polygamy, polygyny is the accepted form in the vast majority of cases. According to the [[Human Relations Area Files|''Ethnographic Atlas Codebook'']] (1998), of 1,231 societies noted, 588 had frequent polygyny, 453 had occasional polygyny, 186 were monogamous, and 4 had polyandry<ref name="Atlas">[http://eclectic.ss.uci.edu/~drwhite/worldcul/Codebook4EthnoAtlas.pdf ''Ethnographic Atlas Codebook''] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121118232413/http://eclectic.ss.uci.edu/~drwhite/worldcul/Codebook4EthnoAtlas.pdf }} derived from George P. Murdock's ''Ethnographic Atlas'' recording the marital composition of 1231 societies from 1960 to 1980</ref>{{snd}}although more recent research suggests that polyandry may occur more commonly than previously thought.<ref name="Starkweather/Hames 2012">{{cite journal |last2= Hames |first2= Raymond |last1= Starkweather |first1= Katherine E |title= A Survey of Non-Classical Polyandry |journal= Human Nature |year= 2012 |volume= 23 |issue= 2 |pages= 149–172 |doi= 10.1007/s12110-012-9144-x|pmid= 22688804 |citeseerx= 10.1.1.697.138 |s2cid=2008559 }}</ref> In cultures which practice polygamy, its prevalence among that population often correlates with [[social class]] and socioeconomic status.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303252577|title= Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies|first= Casey|last= Golomski|via= ResearchGate}}</ref> Polygamy (taking the form of polygyny) is most common in a region known as the "polygamy belt" in [[West Africa]] and [[Central Africa]], with the countries estimated to have the highest polygamy prevalence in the world being [[Burkina Faso]], [[Mali]], [[Gambia]], [[Niger]] and [[Nigeria]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Stephanie |last=Kramer |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/12/07/polygamy-is-rare-around-the-world-and-mostly-confined-to-a-few-regions/ |title=Polygamy is rare around the world |website=[[Pew Research Center]] |access-date=2022-02-14}}</ref>

{{TOC limit|3}}

==Forms==
Polygamy exists in three specific forms:
* [[Polygyny]], where a man has multiple simultaneous wives
* [[Polyandry]], where a woman has multiple simultaneous husbands
* [[Group marriage]], where the family unit consists of multiple husbands and multiple wives of legal age

===Polygyny===
{{main|Polygyny}}

[[File:Polygyny (bold, color).svg|frameless|right]]

====Incidence====
{{main|Legal status of polygamy}}
[[File:Prince Manga Bell and favorite wives.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|alt=Postcard photo of Prince Manga Bell seated for portrait with four women nearby, possibly late-19th century style|Prince [[Manga Bell]] and favorite wives]]

Polygyny, the practice wherein a man has more than one wife at the same time, is by far the most common form of polygamy. Many{{quantify}}{{which}} [[Muslim-majority countries]] and some countries with sizable Muslim minorities [[Polygyny in Islam|accept polygyny]] to varying extents both legally and culturally. In several countries, such as [[Polygyny in India|India]], the law only recognizes polygamous marriages for the Muslim population. [[Sharia|Islamic law]] or ''sharia'' is a [[religious law]] forming part of the [[Islam]]ic tradition which allows polygyny.<ref name=oxforddic>{{cite web |title=British & World English: sharia |url=https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/sharia |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=4 December 2015 |location=Oxford |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208120345/https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/sharia |archive-date=8 December 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/topics/religion/islam|title=Islam|website=HISTORY|language=en|access-date=2020-01-24}}</ref> It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the [[Quran]] and the [[hadith]]. In [[Arabic language|Arabic]], the term ''sharīʿah'' refers to [[God in Islam|God]]'s ([[Arabic]]: الله [[Allāh]]) immutable [[divine law]] and is contrasted with ''[[fiqh]]'', which refers to its human scholarly interpretations.<ref name=ODI>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Islamic Law |editor=John L. Esposito |encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2014 |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/print/opr/t125/e1107 |access-date=29 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331154513/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/print/opr/t125/e1107 |archive-date=31 March 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Knut S. |last=Vikør |title=Sharīʿah |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor=Emad El-Din Shahin |year=2014 |url=http://bridgingcultures.neh.gov/muslimjourneys/items/show/226 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140604214623/http://bridgingcultures.neh.gov/muslimjourneys/items/show/226 |archive-date=4 June 2014|url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Norman |last=Calder |title=Law. Legal Thought and Jurisprudence |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World |editor=John L. Esposito |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2009 |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0473}}</ref>

Polygyny is more widespread in [[Africa]] than on any other continent,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-IOAAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Northwestern University Press |location=Evanston |page=17 |isbn=9780810102705 |title=Many Wives, Many Powers: Authority and Power in Polygynous Families |year=1970 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=African polygamy: Past and present|url=https://voxeu.org/article/african-polygamy-past-and-present|last=Fenske|first=James|website=VoxEU.org|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> especially in [[West Africa]], and some scholars see the [[Slave Trade|slave trade]]'s impact on the male-to-female sex ratio as a key factor in the emergence and fortification of polygynous practices in regions of Africa.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Henrich|first1=Joseph|last2=Boyd|first2=Robert|last3=Richerson|first3=Peter J.|title=The puzzle of monogamous marriage|journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|language=en|volume=367|issue=1589|pages=657–669|doi=10.1098/rstb.2011.0290|issn=0962-8436|pmc=3260845|pmid=22271782}}</ref> In the region of [[sub-Saharan Africa]], polygyny is common and deeply rooted in the culture, with 11% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa living in such marriages (25% of the Muslim population and 3% of the Christian population, as of 2019).<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/12/07/polygamy-is-rare-around-the-world-and-mostly-confined-to-a-few-regions/|title=Polygamy is rare around the world and mostly confined to a few regions|first=Stephanie|last=Kramer}}</ref> According to Pew, polygamy is widespread in a cluster of countries in West and Central Africa, including Burkina Faso, (36%), Mali (34%) and Nigeria (28%).<ref name="auto"/>

Anthropologist [[Jack Goody]]'s comparative study of marriage around the world utilizing the [[Human Relations Area Files|Ethnographic Atlas]] demonstrated a historical correlation between the practice of extensive [[Shifting cultivation|shifting horticulture]] and polygamy in the majority of sub-Saharan African societies.<ref name="Goody" /> Drawing on the work of [[Ester Boserup]], Goody notes that the sexual division of labour varies between the male-dominated intensive [[Plough agriculture|plough-agriculture]] common in Eurasia and the extensive shifting horticulture found in sub-Saharan Africa. In some of the sparsely-populated regions where shifting cultivation takes place in Africa, women do much of the work. This favours polygamous marriages in which men seek to monopolize the production of women "who are valued both as workers and as child bearers". Goody however, observes that the correlation is imperfect and varied, and also discusses more traditionally male-dominated though relatively extensive farming systems such as those traditionally common in much of West Africa, especially in the West African [[savanna]], where more agricultural work is done by men, and where polygyny is desired by men more for the generation of male offspring whose labor is valued.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511621697.014|doi = 10.1017/CBO9780511621697.014|chapter = Polygyny, Economy and the Role of Women|title = The Character of Kinship|year = 1974|last1 = Goody|first1 = Jack |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages = 175–190|isbn = 9780521202909}}</ref>

Anthropologists Douglas R. White and Michael L. Burton discuss and support Jack Goody's observation regarding African male farming systems in "Causes of Polygyny: Ecology, Economy, Kinship, and Warfare"<ref name="White & Burton 1988">{{cite journal|last1=White|first1=Douglas|last2=Burton|first2=Michael|title=Causes of Polygyny: Ecology, Economy, Kinship, and Warfare|journal=American Anthropologist|volume=90|issue=4|pages=871–887|doi=10.1525/aa.1988.90.4.02a00060|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0468q4xq}}</ref>{{rp|884}} where these authors note:

{{blockquote|Goody (1973) argues against the female contributions hypothesis. He notes Dorjahn's (1959) comparison of East and West Africa, showing higher female agricultural contributions in East Africa and higher polygyny rates in West Africa, especially the West African savanna, where one finds especially high male agricultural contributions. Goody says, "The reasons behind polygyny are sexual and reproductive rather than economic and productive" (1973:189), arguing that men marry polygynously to maximize their fertility and to obtain large households containing many young dependent males.<ref name="White & Burton 1988"/>{{rp|873}}}}

[[File:Kwong Sue Duk with his three wives and fourteen children, Cairns, 1904 (9623512597).jpg|thumb|Chinese immigrant with his three wives and fourteen children, [[Cairns]], 1904]]
An analysis by James Fenske (2012) found that child mortality and ecologically related economic shocks had a significant association with rates of polygamy in sub-Saharan Africa, rather than female agricultural contributions (which are typically relatively small in the West African savanna and sahel, where polygyny rates are higher), finding that polygyny rates decrease significantly with child mortality rates.<ref>{{Cite web | last = Fenske | first = James | author-link = James Fenske | title = African polygamy: past and present | url = https://www.economics.ox.ac.uk/materials/papers/12544/csae-wps-2012-20.pdf | publisher = Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford | pages = 1–30 | date = November 2012 | access-date = 27 September 2019 | archive-date = 22 September 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170922005828/https://www.economics.ox.ac.uk/materials/papers/12544/csae-wps-2012-20.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref>

==== Types of polygyny ====
Polygynous marriages fall into two types: ''sororal polygyny'', in which the co-wives are sisters, and ''non-sororal'', where the co-wives are not related. Polygyny offers husbands the benefit of allowing them to have more children, may provide them with a larger number of productive workers (where workers are family), and allows them to establish politically useful ties with a greater number of [[kin group]]s.<ref name="Zeitzen"/> Senior wives can benefit as well when the addition of junior wives to the family lightens their [[workload]]. Wives', especially senior wives', status in a community can increase through the addition of other wives, who add to the family's prosperity or symbolize conspicuous consumption (much as a large house, domestic help, or expensive vacations operate in a [[Western world|western country]]). For such reasons, senior wives sometimes work hard or contribute from their own resources to enable their husbands to accumulate the [[bride price]] for an extra wife.<ref name=lee>{{cite book|title= Family Structure and Interaction: A Comparative Analysis|author= Lee, Gary R.|chapter= Structural Variety in Marriage|pages= 92–93|edition= 2nd, revised|publisher= University of Minnesota Press}}</ref>

Polygyny may also result from the practice of [[levirate marriage]]. In such cases, the deceased man's heir may inherit his assets and wife; or, more usually, his brothers may marry the widow. This provides support for the widow and her children (usually also members of the brothers' kin group) and maintains the tie between the husbands' and wives' kin groups. The [[Sororate marriage|sororate]] resembles the levirate, in that a widower must marry the sister of his dead wife. The family of the late wife, in other words, must provide a replacement for her, thus maintaining the marriage alliance. Both levirate and sororate may result in a man having multiple wives.<ref name="Zeitzen"/>
[[File:Chef de village et ses femmes (Guinée).jpg|thumb|Village chief and his wives in Guinea, c. 1910]]

In monogamous societies, wealthy and powerful men established enduring relationships with, and established separate household for, multiple female partners, aside from their legitimate wives; a practice accepted in Imperial China up until the [[Qing Dynasty]] of 1636–1912. This constitutes a form of ''[[wikt:de facto#Adjective|de facto]]'' polygyny referred to as ''[[concubinage]]''.<ref>
{{cite book
|title= Households: Comparative and Historical Studies of the Domestic Group
|year= 1984 |publisher= University of California Press
|location= Berkeley |pages= 393–395
|last= Herlihy |first= David
|editor1-first= Robert |editor1-last= McNetting
|editor2-first= Richard |editor2-last= Will
|editor3-first= Eric |editor3-last= Arnould
}}
</ref>

====Household organization====
Marriage is the moment at which a new household is formed, but different arrangements may occur depending upon the type of marriage and some polygamous marriages do not result in the formation of a single household. In many polygynous marriages the husband's wives may live in separate households.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Baloyi|first=Elijah M.|title=Critical reflections on polygamy in the African Christian context|url=https://missionalia.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/12|journal=Missionalia|volume=41|issue=2|pages=164–181|doi=10.7832/41-2-12|issn=0256-9507|doi-access=free}}</ref> They can thus be described as a "series of linked nuclear families with a 'father' in common".<ref>{{cite book |last=Fox |first=Robin |title=Kinship and Marriage |url=https://archive.org/details/kinshipmarriage00foxr |url-access=registration |year=1967 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=Harmondsworth, UK |page=[https://archive.org/details/kinshipmarriage00foxr/page/39 39]}}</ref>

===Polyandry===
[[File:Polyandry (bold, color).svg|frameless|right]]

====Incidence====
{{Main|Polyandry}}
Polyandry, the practice of a woman having more than one husband at one time, is much less prevalent than polygyny. It is specifically provided in the legal codes of some countries, such as [[Gabon]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Gender Equality and Social Institutions in Gabon | url=http://genderindex.org/country/gabon | publisher=Social Institutions & Gender Index, genderindex.org | date=2007 | access-date=2009-04-27 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619172233/http://genderindex.org/country/gabon | archive-date=2010-06-19 }}</ref>

Polyandry is believed to be more common in societies with scarce environmental resources, as it is believed to limit human population growth and enhance child survival.<ref name=Stone2006>{{cite book |first=Linda |last=Stone |title=Kinship and Gender |year=2006 |publisher=Westview |isbn=9780813348629 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XjRWDgAAQBAJ }}</ref> It is a rare form of marriage that exists not only among poor families, but also the elite.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://case.edu/affil/tibet/booksAndPapers/pahari.html |jstor=3773200 |title=Pahari and Tibetan Polyandry Revisited |last1=Goldstein |first1=Melvyn C. |journal=Ethnology |year=1978 |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=325–337 |doi=10.2307/3773200 }}</ref> For example, in the Himalayan Mountains polyandry is related to the scarcity of land; the marriage of all brothers in a family to the same wife allows family land to remain intact and undivided.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Starkweather|first1=Katherine E.|last2=Hames|first2=Raymond|title=A Survey of Non-Classical Polyandry|journal=Human Nature|language=en|volume=23|issue=2|pages=149–172|doi=10.1007/s12110-012-9144-x|pmid=22688804|s2cid=2008559|issn=1045-6767|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1049&context=anthropologyfacpub}}</ref> If every brother married separately and had children, family land would be split into unsustainable small plots. In Europe, this outcome was avoided through the social practice of [[Historical inheritance systems|impartible inheritance]], under which most siblings would be disinherited.<ref>{{cite book |last=Levine |first=Nancy |title=The Dynamics of polyandry: kinship, domesticity, and population on the Tibetan border |year=1998 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago}}</ref>

====Types====
''Fraternal polyandry'' was traditionally practiced among [[nomad]]ic [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]] in [[Nepal]], parts of [[China]] and part of northern India, in which two or more brothers would marry the same woman. It is most common in societies marked by high male mortality. It is associated with ''partible paternity'', the cultural belief that a child can have more than one father.<ref name="Starkweather2012">{{cite journal|last1=Starkweather |first1=Katherine |first2=Raymond |last2=Hames |url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?context=anthropologyfacpub&article=1049#page=2 |title=A Survey of Non‑Classical Polyandry |journal=Human Nature |year=2012 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=149–72 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925140949/http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?context=anthropologyfacpub&article=1049 |archive-date=25 September 2015 |url-status=live |doi=10.1007/s12110-012-9144-x |pmid=22688804 |s2cid=2008559 |issn=1045-6767 |eissn=1936-4776 |oclc=879353439 }}</ref>

''Non-fraternal polyandry'' occurs when the wives' husbands are unrelated, as among the [[Velakkathala Nair|Nayar tribe of India]], where girls undergo a ritual marriage before puberty,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.everyculture.com/South-Asia/Nayar-Marriage-and-Family.html| title = Nayar – Marriage and Family}}</ref> and the first husband is acknowledged as the father of all her children. However, the woman may never cohabit with that man, taking multiple lovers instead; these men must acknowledge the paternity of their children (and hence demonstrate that no [[Caste system in India|caste]] prohibitions have been breached) by paying the [[midwife]]. The women remain in their maternal home, living with their brothers, and property is passed [[matrilineally]].<ref name="Gough">{{Cite journal |last=Gough |first=E. Kathleen |title=The Nayars and the Definition of Marriage |journal=Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland |year=1959 |volume=89|issue=1 |pages=23–34|doi=10.2307/2844434|jstor=2844434 }}</ref> A similar form of matrilineal, de facto polyandry can be found in the institution of [[walking marriage]] among the [[Mosuo women|Mosuo]] tribe of China.

===Serial monogamy===
[[Serial monogamy]] refers to remarriage after divorce or death of a spouse from a monogamous marriage, i.e. multiple marriages but only one legal spouse at a time (a series of monogamous relationships).<ref name="Helen Fisher">{{cite book |last=Fisher |first=Helen |publisher=Ballantine Books |title=The First Sex |pages=[https://archive.org/details/firstsexnatur00fish/page/271 271–72, 276] |isbn=978-0-449-91260-7 |year=2000 |url=https://archive.org/details/firstsexnatur00fish/page/271 }}</ref>

According to Danish scholar Miriam K. Zeitzen, anthropologists treat [[serial monogamy]], in which divorce and remarriage occur, as a form of polygamy as it also can establish a series of households that may continue to be tied by shared paternity and shared income.<ref name="Zeitzen">{{cite book |last=Zeitzen |first=Miriam Koktvedgaard |title=Polygamy: A Cross-Cultural Analysis |year=2008 |publisher=Berg |location=Oxford |isbn=978-1-84520-220-0}}</ref> As such, they are similar to the household formations created through divorce and serial monogamy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=FALEN|first=DOUGLAS J.|title=Polygamy: a cross-cultural analysis by Zeitzen, Miriam Koktvedgaard|journal=Social Anthropology|volume=17|issue=4|pages=510–511|doi=10.1111/j.1469-8676.2009.00088_20.x|issn=0964-0282}}</ref>

Serial monogamy creates a new kind of relative, the "ex-".<ref>For a popular press angle, see e.g. Rosie Wilby, ''Is Monogamy Dead?: Rethinking Relationships in the 21st Century'' (Cardiff: Accent Press, 2017), 107. {{ISBN|9781786154521}}. For deeper, scholarly analysis, see e.g. David Silverman, "The Construction of 'Delicate' Objects in Counselling", in ed. Margaret Wetherell et al., ''Discourse Theory and Practice: A Reader'' (London: Sage, 2001), 123–27. {{ISBN|9780761971566}}</ref> The "ex-wife", for example, can remain an active part of her "ex-husband's" life, as they may be tied together by legally or informally mandated economic support, which can last for years, including by [[alimony]], [[child support]], and [[joint custody]]. Bob Simpson, the British social anthropologist, notes that it creates an "extended family" by tying together a number of households, including mobile children. He says that Britons may have ex‑wives or ex‑brothers‑in‑law, but not an ''ex‑child''. According to him, these "unclear families" do not fit the mold of the monogamous nuclear family.<ref>{{cite book |last=Simpson |first=Bob |title=Changing Families: An Ethnographic Approach to Divorce and Separation |year=1998 |publisher=Berg |location=Oxford}}</ref>

===Group marriage===
{{Main|Group marriage}}
Group marriage is a [[Non-monogamy|non-monogamous]] [[marriage]]-like arrangement where three or more adults live together, all considering themselves partners, sharing finances, children, and household responsibilities. [[Polyamory]] is on a continuum of family-bonds that includes group marriage.<ref>"Polyamory", in Robert T. Francoeur and Raymond J. Noonan, eds., ''The Continuum Complete International Encyclopedia of Sexuality'' (London: A&C Black, 2004), 1205. {{ISBN|9780826414885}}</ref> The term does not refer to [[bigamy]] as no claim to being married in formal legal terms is made.<ref>{{cite book |last=Constantine |first=Larry L. |title=Group Marriage: A Study of Contemporary Multilateral Marriage |year=1974 |publisher=Collier Books |isbn=978-0020759102}}</ref>

==Scientific and Historical Perspectives==
Scientific studies originally classified the human mating system as primarily socially monogamous. A 1988 survey of 93 world populations found that the cultural practice of polygamy was in the minority.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Low | first1 = B. | year = 1988 | title = Measures of polygyny in humans | journal = Curr Anthropol | volume = 29 | pages = 189–194 | doi=10.1086/203627| s2cid = 143665535 }}</ref> As mentioned above, the 1981 [[Human Relations Area Files|''Ethnographic Atlas Codebook'']] indicated the opposite.<ref>Murdock GP (1981) ''Atlas of World Cultures''. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press</ref> Subsequent 2012 evidence found that polygamy was prevalent in pre-history, is more common than previously believed, and is most common in egalitarian societies.<ref name="Starkweather/Hames 2012" /> A separate 1988 review examined the practices of 849 societies from before Western imperialism and colonization. The review found that 708 of the societies (83%) accepted polygyny. Only 16% were monogamous and 1% polyandrous.<ref>{{cite news |last=White |first=Douglas |last2=Betzig |first2=Laura |last3=Mulder |first3=Monique |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2743506 |title=Rethinking Polygyny: Co-Wives, Codes, and Cultural Systems [and Comments and Reply] |work=Current Anthropology |accessdate=2023-06-28 }}</ref> Even when polygyny was accepted in the community, however, pair-bonding was often monogamous in practice – while couples remained in a relationship. In many historical communities, serial monogamy may have been the accepted practice rather than a lifelong monogamous bond.<ref name="Schacht">{{cite journal |title=Are We Monogamous? A Review of the Evolution of Pair-Bonding in Humans and Its Contemporary Variation Cross-Culturally |journal=Front. Ecol. Evol. |last=Schacht |first=Ryan |last2=Kramer |first2=Karen |volume=7 |doi=10.3389/fevo.2019.00230 }}</ref>

Recent anthropological data suggest that the modern concept of life-long monogamy has been in place for only the last 1,000 years <ref>{{cite news |last=Zimmer |first=Carl|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/02/science/monogamys-boost-to-human-evolution.html |title=Monogamy and Human Evolution |work=The New York Times |location=New York |accessdate=2023-06-28 }}</ref>. Genetic evidence has demonstrated that more men began contributing to the genetic pool between 5,000-10,000 years ago, which suggests that reproductive monogamy became more common at that time.<ref name="pmid12962309">{{cite journal| author=Dupanloup I, Pereira L, Bertorelle G, Calafell F, Prata MJ, Amorim A | display-authors=etal| title=A recent shift from polygyny to monogamy in humans is suggested by the analysis of worldwide Y-chromosome diversity. | journal=J Mol Evol | year= 2003 | volume= 57 | issue= 1 | pages= 85-97 | pmid=12962309 | doi=10.1007/s00239-003-2458-x | pmc= | url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&tool=sumsearch.org/cite&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks&id=12962309 }}</ref> This would correspond to the neolithic agricultural revolution. During this time, formerly nomadic societies began to claim and settle land for farming, leading to the advent of property ownership and therefore inheritance. Men would therefore seek to ensure that their land would go to direct descendants and had a vested interest in limiting the sexual activities of their reproductive partners. It is possible that the concept of marriage and permanent monogamy evolved at this time.<ref name="Goody">{{cite book |last=Goody |first1=Jack |title=Production and Reproduction: A Comparative Study of the Domestic Domain |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1976}}</ref>

Other scientific arguments for monogamy prior to 2003 were based on characteristics of reproductive physiology, such as sperm competition,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Anderson | first1 = M. J. | last2 = Dixson | first2 = A. F. | year = 2002 | title = Sperm competition: motility and the midpiece in primates | journal = Nature | volume = 416 | issue = 6880 | page = 496 | doi=10.1038/416496a | pmid = 11932733 | bibcode = 2002Natur.416..496A | s2cid = 4388134 }}</ref> sexual selection in primates,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Dixson | first1 = A. L. | last2 = Anderson | first2 = M. J. | year = 2002 | title = Sexual selection, seminal coagulation and copulatory plug formation in primates | journal = Folia Primatol | volume = 73 | issue = 2–3 | pages = 63–69 | doi= 10.1159/000064784| pmid = 12207054 | s2cid = 46804812 }}</ref> and body size characteristics.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Harcourt | first1 = A. H. | last2 = Harvey | first2 = P. H. | last3 = Larson | first3 = S. G. | last4 = Short | first4 = RV | year = 1981 | title = Testis weight, body weight and breeding system in primates | journal = Nature | volume = 293 | issue = 5827 | pages = 55–57 | doi= 10.1038/293055a0 | pmid = 7266658 | bibcode = 1981Natur.293...55H | s2cid = 22902112}}</ref> A 2019 synthesis of these and other data found that the weight of the evidence supports a mating bond that may include polygyny or polyandry, but is most likely to be predominantly serial monogamy.<ref name="Schacht" />

More recent genetic data has clarified that, in most regions throughout history, a smaller proportion of men contributed to human genetic history compared to women.<ref name="pmid12962309" />
<ref name="pmid15317874">{{cite journal| author=Wilder JA, Mobasher Z, Hammer MF| title=Genetic evidence for unequal effective population sizes of human females and males. | journal=Mol Biol Evol | year= 2004 | volume= 21 | issue= 11 | pages= 2047-57 | pmid=15317874 | doi=10.1093/molbev/msh214 | pmc= | url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&tool=sumsearch.org/cite&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks&id=15317874 }}</ref> Assuming an equal number of men and women are born and survive to reproduce, this may indicates that historically, only a subset of men fathered children and did so with multiple women (and may suggest that many men either did not procreate or did not have children that survived to create modern ancestors). This observation could occur for several reasons. A frequent interpretation is a harem model, where one man will out-compete other men (presumably through acts of violence or power) for exclusive sexual access to a group of women. It may also suggest that some men had either more sex or more reproductive success with multiple women simultaneously (either outside of lifelong monogamous relationships or in the form of polygyny). It may also suggest that some men were more likely than other men to have a series of monogamous relationships that led to children with different women throughout the man’s life (serial monogamy).<ref name="Schacht" />

The serial monogamy interpretation of genetic history would be congruent with other findings, such as the fact that humans form pair bonds (although not necessarily for life) and that human fathers invest in at least the early upbringing of their children.<ref name="Schacht" /> Serial monogamy would also be consistent with "honeymoon period", a period of intense interest in a single sexual partner which may help to keep men invested in staying with the mother of their child for the duration of the period with less interest in other women.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Pair-Bonding, Romantic Love, and Evolution: The Curious Case of "Homo sapiens" |journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science |last=Fletcher |first=Garth |last2=Simpson |first2=Jeffry |last3=Campbell |first3=Lorne |last4=Overall |first4=Nickola |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=20-36 |jstor=44281912 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44281912 |accessdate=2023-06-28 }}</ref> In most cases, this “honeymoon period” lasts 18 months to three years.<ref name="Love and Limerence">{{cite book |last=Tennov |first=Dorothy |author-link=Dorothy Tennov |title=Love and Limerence: the Experience of Being in Love |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uPsDAAAACAAJ |access-date=12 March 2011 |year=1999 |publisher=Scarborough House |isbn=978-0-8128-6286-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Leggett|first1=John C.|last2=Malm|first2=Suzanne|title=The Eighteen Stages of Love: Its Natural History, Fragrance, Celebration and Chase|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2g0RPVk7i1QC&pg=PA27|access-date=12 March 2011|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-882289-33-2}}</ref> This would correspond to the period necessary to bring a child to relative independence in the traditionally small, interdependent, communal societies of pre-neolithic humans, before they settled into agricultural communities.<ref name="pmid12962309" />

While genetic evidence typically displays a bias towards a smaller number of men reproducing with more women, some regions or time periods have shown the opposite. In a 2019 investigation, Musharoff et al. applied modern techniques to the 1000 Genomes Project Phase 3 high-coverage Complete Genomics whole-genome dataset.<ref name="pmid31539367">{{cite journal| author=Musharoff S, Shringarpure S, Bustamante CD, Ramachandran S| title=The inference of sex-biased human demography from whole-genome data. | journal=PLoS Genet | year= 2019 | volume= 15 | issue= 9 | pages= e1008293 | pmid=31539367 | doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1008293 | pmc=6774570 | url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&tool=sumsearch.org/cite&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks&id=31539367}}</ref> They found that the Southern Han Chinese had a male bias (45% female, indicating that women were likely to reproduce with multiple men). This region is known for its lack of a concept of paternity and for a sense of female equality or superiority.<ref>{{cite news |last=Booth |first=Hannah |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/01/the-kingdom-of-women-the-tibetan-tribe-where-a-man-is-never-the-boss |title=The kingdom of women: the society where a man is never the boss |work=The Guardian |accessdate=2023-06-28 }}</ref> The Musharoff study found a more typical female bias in Yorubans (63% female), Europeans (84%), Punjabis (82%), and Peruvians (56%). Conversely, they found a male bias in Europeans (20% female) during an out-of-Africa migration event that may have increased the number of men successfully reproducing with women, perhaps by replenishing the genetic pool in Europe.<ref name="pmid20453016">{{cite journal| author=Keinan A, Reich D| title=Can a sex-biased human demography account for the reduced effective population size of chromosome X in non-Africans? | journal=Mol Biol Evol | year= 2010 | volume= 27 | issue= 10 | pages= 2312-21 | pmid=20453016 | doi=10.1093/molbev/msq117 | pmc=2944028 | url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&tool=sumsearch.org/cite&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks&id=20453016}}</ref>

==Religious attitudes towards polygamy==

===Buddhism===
[[Buddhism]] does not regard marriage as a [[sacrament]]; it is purely a [[secular]] affair. Normally Buddhist monks do not participate in it (though in some sects priests and monks do marry). Hence marriage receives no religious sanction.<ref name="access to insight">{{cite web |url= http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/dewaraja/wheel280.html |title= Accesstoinsight.org |publisher= Accesstoinsight.org |access-date= 13 September 2011}}</ref> Forms of marriage, in consequence, vary from country to country. The Parabhava [[List of suttas|Sutta]] states that "a man who is not satisfied with one woman and seeks out other women is on the path to decline". Other fragments in the Buddhist scripture seem to treat polygamy unfavorably, leading some authors to conclude that Buddhism generally does not approve of it<ref name="ethics of Buddhism">[https://books.google.com/books?id=URZNk9noWJEC&pg=PA101 The Ethics of Buddhism], Shundō Tachibana, Routledge, 1992, {{ISBN|978-0-7007-0230-5}}</ref> or alternatively regards it as a tolerated, but subordinate, marital model.<ref name="introduction to Buddhist ethics">[https://books.google.com/books?id=URZNk9noWJEC&pg=PA101 An introduction to Buddhist ethics]: foundations, values, and issues, Brian Peter Harvey, Cambridge University Press, 2000, {{ISBN|978-0-521-55640-8}}</ref>

[[Polygamy in Thailand]] was legally recognized until 1935. [[Polygamy in Myanmar]] was outlawed in 2015. In [[Sri Lanka]], polyandry was legal in the kingdom of Kandy, but outlawed by British after conquering the kingdom in 1815.<ref name="access to insight"/> When the Buddhist texts were translated into Chinese, the [[concubine]]s of others were added to the list of inappropriate partners. [[Polyandry in Tibet]] was traditionally common, as was polygyny, and having several wives or husbands was never regarded as having sex with inappropriate partners.<ref name="Berzin2010">{{cite web |url= http://studybuddhism.com/en/tibetan-buddhism/path-to-enlightenment/karma-rebirth/buddhist-sexual-ethics-main-issues |title= Buddhist Sexual Ethics: Main Issues |work= Study Buddhism |first= Alexander |last= Berzin |archive-date= 30 January 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160130091910/http://next.berzinarchives.com/tibetan-buddhism/guidelines-for-study/relating-the-teachings-to-personal-relationships/buddhist-sexual-ethics-main-issues |url-status= dead |access-date= 20 June 2016 }}</ref>
Most typically, fraternal polyandry is practiced, but sometimes father and son have a common wife, which is a unique family structure in the world. Other forms of marriage are also present, like group marriage and monogamous marriage.<ref name=Zeitzen/> Polyandry (especially fraternal polyandry) is also common among Buddhists in [[Bhutan]], [[Ladakh]], and other parts of the [[Indian subcontinent]].

===Celtic traditions===
Some pre-Christian [[Celtic paganism|Celtic pagans]] were known to practice polygamy, although the [[Celtic peoples]] wavered between it, [[monogamy]] and [[polyandry]] depending on the time period and the area.<ref name="Markale1986">{{cite book |first=Jean |last=Markale |author-link=Jean Markale |title=Women of the Celts |page=[https://archive.org/details/womenofcelts00mark/page/36 36] |chapter=The Judicial Framework |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4UVc6up1HJUC&pg=PA36 |translator1-first=A. |translator1-last=Mygind |translator2-first=C. |translator2-last=Hauch |translator3-first=P. |translator3-last=Henry |publisher=Inner Traditions |location=Rochester, Vermont |orig-year=1st pub. 1972 ''La Femme Celte'' (in French) |isbn=978-0-89281-150-2 |lccn=86-20128 |oclc=14069840 |ol=2726337M |url=https://archive.org/details/womenofcelts00mark/page/36 }}</ref> In some areas this continued even after Christianization began, for instance the [[Brehon Laws]] of [[Gaelic Ireland]] explicitly allowed for polygamy,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fries |first1=Jan |title=Cauldron of the Gods: A manual of Celtic magick |publisher=Mandrake |location=Oxford |isbn=9781869928612 |page=192}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=McLeod |first1=Neil |editor1-last=Duffy |editor1-first=Seán |title=Medieval Ireland: An encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=0-415-94052-4 |pages=42–45 |chapter=Brehon law}}</ref> especially amongst the noble class.<ref>{{cite book |last1=State |first1=Paul F. |title=A brief history of Ireland |publisher=Checkmark Books |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0816075171 |page=17}}</ref> Some modern Celtic pagan religions accept the practice of polygamy to varying degrees,<ref>Fox, Martin and O'Ciarrai, Breandan. "[http://ciarraide.org/sinnsreachd101.html Céard is Sinnsreachd Ann? (What Is Sinnsreachd?)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231001450/http://ciarraide.org/sinnsreachd101.html }}", ''Tuath na Ciarraide'', 7 March 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2012.</ref> though how widespread the practice is within these religions is unknown.

===Christianity===
{{Main|Polygamy in Christianity}}
Although the [[Old Testament]] describes numerous examples of polygamy among devotees to God, most Christian groups have rejected the practice of polygamy and have upheld [[monogamy]] alone as normative. Nevertheless, some Christians groups in different periods have practiced, or currently do practice, polygamy.<ref name="Nyami2018">{{cite web |last1=Nyami |first1=Faith |title=Cleric: Christian men can marry more than one wife |url=https://www.nation.co.ke/news/-Christian-men-can-marry-more-than-one-wife/1056-4299848-dtv96mz/index.html |publisher=[[Daily Nation]] |access-date=9 October 2019 |language=en }}</ref><ref name="Mamdani2008">{{cite web |last1=Mamdani |first1=Zehra |title=Idaho Evangelical Christian polygamists use Internet to meet potential spouses |url=https://www.deseret.com/2008/2/28/20073463/idaho-evangelical-christian-polygamists-use-internet-to-meet-potential-spouses |publisher=[[Deseret News]] |access-date=9 October 2019 |language=en }}</ref> Some Christians actively debate whether the [[New Testament]] or [[Christian ethics]] allows or forbids polygamy.

Although the [[New Testament]] is largely silent on the subject of polygamy, some point to Jesus's repetition of the earlier [[scriptures]], noting that a man and a wife "shall become one flesh".<ref>{{bibleverse||Genesis|2:24|ESV}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|19:3–6|ESV}}</ref> However, some look to [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]]'s writings to the [[First Epistle to the Corinthians|Corinthians]]: "Do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, 'The two will become one flesh.{{'"}} Supporters of polygamy claim that this verse indicates that the term refers to a physical, rather than a spiritual,{{clarify}} union.<ref>{{bibleverse||1 Corinthians|6:16|ESV}}</ref>

Some Christian theologians<ref>{{cite web|last=Wilber|first=David|title=Monogamy: God's Creational Marriage Ideal|url=https://davidwilber.com/articles/monogamy-gods-creational-marriage-ideal}}</ref> argue that in Matthew 19:3–9 and referring to Genesis 2:24,<ref>{{bibleref2|Genesis|2:24}}</ref> [[Jesus]] explicitly states a man should have only one wife:
{{blockquote|Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?<ref>{{bibleref2|Matthew|19:3–9}}</ref>}}

1 Timothy 3:2 states:
{{blockquote|Now a bishop must be above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher,<ref>{{bibleref2|1 Timothy|3:2|NRSV}}</ref>}} See verse 12 regarding deacons having only one wife. Similar counsel is repeated in the first chapter of the [[Epistle to Titus]].<ref>The Digital [[Nestle-Aland]] lists only one manuscript (P46) as source of the verse, while nine other manuscripts have no such verse, cf. http://nttranscripts.uni-muenster.de/AnaServer?NTtranscripts+0+start.anv</ref>

Periodically, Christian reform movements that have sought to rebuild Christian doctrine based on the Bible alone (''[[sola scriptura]]'') have temporarily accepted polygyny as a Biblical practice. For example, during the [[Protestant Reformation]], in a document which was simply referred to as ''"Der Beichtrat"'' (or ''"The Confessional Advice"'' ),<ref>[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_kqyauQISxFEC  Letter to Philip of Hesse], 10 December 1539, [[De Wette]]-Seidemann, 6:238–244</ref> [[Martin Luther]] granted the [[Landgrave]] [[Philip of Hesse]], who, for many years, had been living "constantly in a state of [[adultery]] and [[fornication]]",<ref name="Michelet1904">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/lifelutherwritt00luthgoog |title=The Life of Luther Written by Himself |page=[https://archive.org/details/lifelutherwritt00luthgoog/page/n271 251] |chapter=Chapter III: 1536–1545 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/lifelutherwritt00luthgoog#page/n271 |editor-last=Michelet |editor-link=Jules Michelet |translator-first=William |translator-last=Hazlitt |translator-link=William Hazlitt |publisher=[[George Bell and Sons]] |location=London |series=Bohn's Standard Library}}</ref> a dispensation to take a second wife. The double marriage was to be done in secret, however, to avoid public scandal.<ref>[[James Bowling Mozley]] ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ofwE7kEdx6QC&pg=PA403 Essays, Historical and Theological]'' 1:403–404 Excerpts from ''Der Beichtrat''</ref> Some fifteen years earlier, in a letter to the Saxon Chancellor Gregor Brück, Luther stated that he could not "forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture." ("''Ego sane fateor, me non posse prohibere, si quis plures velit uxores ducere, nec repugnat sacris literis.''")<ref>Letter to the Chancellor [[:de:Gregor Brück|Gregor Brück]], 13 January 1524, [[De Wette]] 2:459.</ref>

In [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], tensions have frequently erupted between advocates of the Christian insistence on monogamy and advocates of the traditional practice of polygamy. For instance, [[Mswati III]], the Christian [[List of monarchs of Eswatini|king of Eswatini]], has 15 wives. In some instances in recent times, there have been moves for accommodation; in other instances, churches have strongly resisted such moves. African Independent Churches have sometimes referred to those parts of the [[Old Testament]] that describe polygamy in defense of the practice.

The illegality of polygamy in certain areas creates, according to certain Bible passages, additional arguments against it. [[Paul the Apostle]] writes "submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience" (Romans 13:5), for "the authorities that exist have been established by God." (Romans 13:1) [[St Peter]] concurs when he says to "submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right." (1 Peter 2:13,14) Pro-polygamists argue that, as long as polygamists currently do not obtain legal marriage licenses nor seek "common law marriage status" for additional spouses, no enforced laws are being broken any more than when monogamous couples similarly co-habitate without a marriage license.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblicalpolygamy.com/exegesis/law-of-the-land/|title=Law of the Land – Exegesis – Biblical Polygamy . com|website=biblicalpolygamy.com}}</ref>

====Roman Catholic Church====
The Roman [[Catholic Church]] condemns polygamy; 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." Also in paragraph 1645 under the head "The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love" states "The unity of marriage, distinctly recognized by our Lord, is made clear in the equal personal dignity which must be accorded to husband and wife in mutual and unreserved affection. Polygamy is contrary to conjugal love which is undivided and exclusive."<ref>{{cite web
|first = Kelvin
|last = Ugwu
|title = Understanding The Scriptural Teaching on Polygamy
|url = https://penshuttle.com/understanding-the-scriptural-teaching-on-polygamy/
|date = 28 April 2022
|publisher = Pen Shuttle
|access-date = 28 April 2022
|archive-date = 28 April 2022
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220428183734/https://penshuttle.com/understanding-the-scriptural-teaching-on-polygamy/
|url-status = dead
}}</ref>

Saint [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] saw a conflict with Old Testament polygamy. He refrained from judging the patriarchs, but did not deduce from their practice the ongoing acceptability of polygyny. On the contrary, he argued that the polygamy of the Fathers, which was tolerated by the Creator because of fertility, was a diversion from His original plan for human marriage. Augustine wrote: "That the good purpose of marriage, however, is better promoted by one husband with one wife, than by a husband with several wives, is shown plainly enough by the very first union of a married pair, which was made by the Divine Being Himself."<ref>[[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume V/On Marriage and Concupiscence/Book I/Chapter 10|''On Marriage and Concupiscence'', I,10]]</ref>

Augustine taught that the reason patriarchs had many wives was not because of fornication, but because they wanted more children. He supported his premise by showing that their marriages, in which husband was the head, were arranged according to the rules of good management: those who are ''in command'' (''quae principantur'') in their society were always singular, while ''subordinates'' (''subiecta'') were multiple. He gave two examples of such relationships: ''dominus-servus'' – master-servant (in older translation: ''slave'') and ''God-soul''. The Bible often equates worshiping multiple gods, i.e. idolatry to fornication.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Marcus |first=Joel |title=Idolatry in the New Testament |journal=Interpretation |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=152–164 |doi=10.1177/002096430606000203|s2cid=170288252 }}</ref> Augustine relates to that: "On this account there is no True God of souls, save One: but one soul by means of many false gods may commit fornication, but not be made fruitful."<ref>[[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume III/Moral Treatises of St. Augustin/On the Good of Marriage/Section 20|Augustine, ''On the Good of Marriage'', ch. 20]]; cf. [[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume V/On Marriage and Concupiscence/Book I/Chapter 10|''On Marriage and Concupiscence'', I,10]]</ref>

As tribal populations grew, fertility was no longer a valid justification of polygamy: it "was lawful among the ancient fathers: whether it be lawful now also, I would not hastily pronounce (utrum et nunc fas sit, non temere dixerim). 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."<ref>St. Augustin [[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume III/Moral Treatises of St. Augustin/On the Good of Marriage/Section 17|''On the Good of Marriage'', ch.17]]; cf. [[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume V/On Marriage and Concupiscence/Book I/Chapter 9|''On Marriage and Concupiscence'', I,9.8]]</ref>

Augustine saw marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman, which may not be broken. It was the Creator who established monogamy: "Therefore, the first natural bond of human society is man and wife."<ref>[[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume III/Moral Treatises of St. Augustin/On the Good of Marriage/Section 1|''On the Good of Marriage'', ch.1]]</ref> Such marriage was confirmed by the Saviour in the Gospel of Matthew (Mat 19:9) and by His presence at the wedding in Cana (John 2:2).<ref>[[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume III/Moral Treatises of St. Augustin/On the Good of Marriage/Section 3|''On the Good of Marriage'', ch.3]]</ref> In the Church—the City of God—marriage is a sacrament and may not and cannot be dissolved as long as the spouses live: "But a marriage once for all entered upon in the City of our God, where, even from the first union of the two, the man and the woman, marriage bears a certain sacramental character, can in no way be dissolved but by the death of one of them."<ref>[[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume III/Moral Treatises of St. Augustin/On the Good of Marriage/Section 17|''On the Good of Marriage'', 17]]</ref> In chapter 7, Augustine pointed out that the Roman Empire forbad polygamy, even if the reason of fertility would support it: "For it is in a man's power to put away a wife that is barren, and marry one of whom to have children. And yet it is not allowed; and now indeed in our times, and after the usage of Rome (nostris quidem iam temporibus ac more Romano), neither to marry in addition, so as to have more than one wife living." Further on he notices that the Church's attitude goes much further than the secular law regarding monogamy: It forbids remarrying, considering such to be a form of fornication: "And yet, save in the City of our God, in His Holy Mount, the case is not such with the wife. But, that the laws of the Gentiles are otherwise, who is there that knows not."<ref>Augustine, [[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume III/Moral Treatises of St. Augustin/On the Good of Marriage/Section 7|''On the Good of Marriage'', ch. 7]]</ref>

The Council of Trent condemns polygamy: "If anyone saith, that it is lawful for Christians to have several wives at the same time, and that this is not prohibited by any divine law; let him be [[anathema]]."<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/trent/twenty-fourth-session.htm| title = PapalEncyclicals: Council of Trenty, 24th Sessions| date = 11 November 1563}}</ref>

In modern times a minority of Roman Catholic theologians have argued that polygamy, though not ideal, can be a legitimate form of Christian marriage in certain regions, in particular Africa.<ref>"''The Ratzinger report: an exclusive interview on the state of the Church Pope Benedict XVI, Vittorio Messori"'', p. 195, Ignatius Press, 1985, {{ISBN|0-89870-080-9}}</ref><ref>"''Morality: The Case for Polygamy",'' Time Magazine, 10 May 1968, [https://web.archive.org/web/20090205142602/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,902227,00.html time.com] and "''Christianity and the African imagination: essays in honour of [[Adrian Hastings]]''", edited by David Maxwell with Ingrid Lawrie, p. 345–346, Brill, 2002, {{ISBN|90-04-11668-0}}</ref> The Roman Catholic Church teaches in its Catechism that: <blockquote>
polygamy is not in accord with the moral law. [Conjugal] communion is radically contradicted by polygamy; this, in fact, directly negates the plan of God that was revealed from the beginning, because it is contrary to the equal personal dignity of men and women who in matrimony give themselves with a love that is total and therefore unique and exclusive.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm Catholic Cathechism, para. 2387] 5 April 2009, Vatican website</ref></blockquote>

====Lutheran Church====
The [[Lutheran World Federation]] hosted a regional conference in Africa, in which the acceptance of polygamists into full membership by the Lutheran Church in Liberia was defended as being permissible.<ref>{{cite book|last=Deressa|first=Yonas |title=The Ministry of the Whole Person|year=1973|publisher=Gudina Tumsa Foundation|language=en|page=350}}</ref> The Lutheran Church in Liberia, however, does not permit polygamists who have become Christians to marry more wives after they have received the sacrament of [[Baptism|Holy Baptism]].<ref name="KilbridePage2012">{{cite book|last1=Kilbride|first1=Philip Leroy|last2=Page|first2=Douglas R.|title=Plural Marriage for Our Times: A Reinvented Option?|year=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|language=en|isbn=9780313384783|page=188}}</ref> Evangelical Lutheran missionaries in Maasai also tolerate the practice of polygamy and in Southern Sudan, some polygamists are becoming Lutheran Christians.<ref name="Moses2016">{{cite book|last=Mlenga|first=Moses|title=Polygamy in Northern Malawi: A Christian Reassessment|publisher=Mzuni Press|language=en|isbn=9789996045097|pages=41–42}}</ref>

====Anglican Communion====
The 1988 [[Lambeth Conference]] of the [[Anglican Communion]] ruled that polygamy was permissible in certain circumstances:<ref name="Draper2003">{{cite book|last=Draper|first=Jonathan A.|title=The Eye of the Storm: Bishop John William Colenso and the Crisis of Biblical Inspiration|publisher=A&C Black|language=en|isbn=9780826470904|page=304}}</ref>
{{blockquote|The Conference upholds monogamy as God's plan, as the idea of relationship of love between husband and wife; nevertheless recommends that a polygamist who responds to the Gospel and wishes to join the Anglican Church may be baptized and confirmed with his believing wives and children on the following conditions:
*that the polygamist shall promise not to marry again as long as any of his wives at the time of his conversion are alive;
*that the receiving of such a polygamist has the consent of the local Anglican community;
*that such a polygamist shall not be compelled to put away any of his wives on account of the social deprivation they would suffer.<ref name="Draper2003"/>}}

====Latter Day Saint movement====
{{LDSpolygamy}}
{{main|Mormonism and polygamy}}
{{see also|List of Latter Day Saint practitioners of plural marriage}}
In accordance with what Joseph Smith indicated was a revelation, the practice of plural marriage, the marriage of one man to two or more women, was instituted among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early 1840s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/topics/plural-marriage-and-families-in-early-utah?lang=eng&old=true|title=Polygamy (Plural Marriage) {{!}} LDS Church Perspective on Polygamy|website=ChurchofJesusChrist.org|access-date=2017-04-18}}</ref> Despite Smith's revelation, the 1835 edition of the 101st Section of the ''Doctrine and Covenants'', written after the doctrine of plural marriage began to be practiced, publicly condemned polygamy. This scripture was used by [[John Taylor (1808–1887)|John Taylor]] in 1850 to quash Mormon polygamy rumors in [[Liverpool, England]].<ref>Three nights public discussion between the Revds. C. W. Cleeve, James Robertson, and Philip Cater, and Elder John Taylor, Of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, At Boulogne-Sur-Mer, France. Chairman, Rev. K. Groves, M.A., Assisted By Charles Townley, LL.D., and Mr. Luddy. pp. 8–9</ref> Polygamy was made illegal in the state of [[Illinois]]<ref>Greiner & Sherman, Revised Laws of Illinois, 1833, pp. 198–199</ref> during the 1839–44 [[Nauvoo, Illinois|Nauvoo]] era when several top Mormon leaders, including Smith,<ref name="Compton1996">{{cite journal |first=Todd |last=Compton |author-link=Todd Compton |title=A Trajectory of Plurality: An Overview of Joseph Smith's Thirty‑three Plural Wives |journal=Dialogue |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=1–38 |doi=10.2307/45226184 |jstor=45226184 |s2cid=254388739 |issn=0012-2157 |oclc=929467668 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Smith1994">{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=George D |author-link=George D. Smith |title=Nauvoo Roots of Mormon Polygamy, 1841–46: A Preliminary Demographic Report |journal=Dialogue |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=1–72 |doi=10.2307/45228320 |jstor=45228320 |s2cid=254329894 |issn=0012-2157 |oclc=367616792 |url=https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V34N0102_135.pdf }}</ref> [[Brigham Young]] and [[Heber C. Kimball]] took multiple wives. Mormon elders who publicly taught that all men were commanded to enter plural marriage were subject to harsh discipline.<ref>[http://www.centerplace.org/history/ts/v5n03.htm Times and Seasons, vol. 5, p. 423], 1 February 1844</ref> On 7 June 1844 the ''[[Nauvoo Expositor]]'' criticized Smith for plural marriage.

=====The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)=====
After [[Death of Joseph Smith|Joseph Smith]] was killed by a mob on 27 June 1844, the main body of Latter Day Saints left Nauvoo and followed Brigham Young to [[Utah]] where the practice of plural marriage continued.<ref>{{cite AV media |url=http://www.mscbc.org/video/vid_lvp.htm |title=Lifting the Veil of Polygamy |year=2007 |publisher=Main Street Church|postscript=,}} a video presentation concerning the history of Mormon polygamy and its modern manifestations.</ref> In 1852, [[Brigham Young]], the second [[President of the Church (LDS Church)|president]] of the LDS Church, publicly acknowledged the practice of plural marriage through a sermon he gave. Additional sermons by top Mormon leaders on the virtues of polygamy followed.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=[[Journal of Discourses]] |volume=11 |pages=119–128 |first=Brigham |last=Young |author-link=Brigham Young |title=Personality of God – His Attributes – Eternal Life, etc. |url=http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/JournalOfDiscourses3/id/4640 |quote=Since the founding of the Roman empire monogamy has prevailed more extensively than in times previous to that. The founders of that ancient empire were robbers and women stealers, and made laws favoring monogamy in consequence of the scarcity of women among them, and hence this monogamic system which now prevails throughout Christendom, and which had been so fruitful a source of prostitution and whoredom throughout all the Christian monogamic cities of the Old and New World, until rottenness and decay are at the root of their institutions both national and religious.}}</ref>{{rp|128}} Controversy followed when polygamy became a social cause, writers began to publish works condemning polygamy. The key plank of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]]'s 1856 [[Party platform|platform]] was "to prohibit in the territories those twin relics of barbarism, polygamy and slavery".<ref>[http://www.ushistory.org/gop/convention_1856.htm GOP Convention of 1856 in Philadelphia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010053517/http://www.ushistory.org/gop/convention_1856.htm }} from the Independence Hall Association website</ref> In 1862, [[37th United States Congress|Congress]] issued the [[Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act]] which clarified that the practice of polygamy was illegal in all [[Organized incorporated territories of the United States|US territories]]. The LDS Church believed that their religiously based practice of plural marriage was protected by the [[United States Constitution]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment01/05.html |title=Free Exercise Clause – First Amendment |publisher=Caselaw.lp.findlaw.com |access-date=13 September 2011}}</ref> however, the unanimous 1878 [[U.S. Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] decision ''[[Reynolds v. United States]]'' declared that polygamy was not protected by the Constitution, based on the longstanding legal principle that "laws are made for the government of actions, and while they cannot interfere with mere religious belief and opinions, they may with practices."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=search&court=US&case=/us/98/145.html|title=FindLaw's United States Supreme Court case and opinions.|website=Findlaw}}</ref>

Increasingly harsh anti-polygamy legislation in the US led some Mormons to emigrate to [[Canada]] and [[Mexico]]. In 1890, LDS Church president [[Wilford Woodruff]] issued a public declaration (the [[1890 Manifesto|Manifesto]]) announcing that the LDS Church had discontinued new plural marriages. [[Anti-Mormonism|Anti-Mormon sentiment]] waned, as did opposition to statehood for [[Utah]]. The [[Smoot Hearings]] in 1904, which documented that the LDS Church was still practicing polygamy spurred the LDS Church to issue a [[Second Manifesto]] again claiming that it had ceased performing new plural marriages. By 1910 the LDS Church [[excommunicate]]d those who entered into, or performed, new plural marriages. Even so, many plural husbands and wives continued to cohabit until their deaths in the 1940s and 1950s.<ref name=UHE-Polygamy>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Jessie L. |last=Embry |contribution=Polygamy |contribution-url=http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/p/POLYGAMY.html |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=Allan Kent |year=1994 |title=Utah History Encyclopedia |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |publisher=[[University of Utah Press]] |isbn=978-0874804256 |oclc=30473917 |access-date=30 October 2013 |archive-date=17 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417163937/http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/p/POLYGAMY.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Enforcement of the 1890 Manifesto caused various [[Schism (religion)|splinter groups]] to leave the LDS Church in order to continue the practice of plural marriage.<ref>[http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/polygamy/The_Primer.pdf "The Primer"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070719143759/http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/polygamy/The_Primer.pdf }} – Helping Victims of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in Polygamous Communities. A joint report from the offices of the Attorneys General of Arizona and Utah. (2006)</ref> Polygamy among these groups persists today in [[Utah]] and neighboring states as well as in the spin-off colonies. Polygamist churches of Mormon origin are often referred to as "[[Mormon fundamentalism|Mormon fundamentalist]]" churches even though they are not parts of the LDS Church. Such fundamentalists often use a purported [[1886 revelation]] to [[John Taylor (1808–1887)|John Taylor]] as the basis for their authority to continue the practice of plural marriage.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mormonfundamentalism.com/NEWFILES/1886RevelationNew.htm |title=An 1886 Revelation to John Taylor |publisher=Mormonfundamentalism.com |access-date=13 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921072222/http://www.mormonfundamentalism.com/NEWFILES/1886RevelationNew.htm |archive-date=21 September 2011 }}</ref> ''[[The Salt Lake Tribune]]'' stated in 2005 that there were as many as 37,000 fundamentalists with less than half of them living in polygamous households.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2925222 |title=LDS splinter groups growing |first=Brooke |last=Adams |work=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |issn=0746-3502 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113202411/http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2925222 |archive-date=13 January 2014 }}</ref>

On 13 December 2013, US Federal Judge Clark Waddoups ruled in ''[[Brown v. Buhman]]'' that the portions of Utah's anti-polygamy laws which prohibit multiple [[cohabitation]] were unconstitutional, but also allowed Utah to maintain its ban on multiple marriage licenses.<ref name=yyyuhs>{{cite web | url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/191409187/Utah-Polygamy-Decision |title = Utah Polygamy Decision | Mormonism and Polygamy | Polygamy}}</ref>{{unreliable source?}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Schwartz |first=John |title=A Law Prohibiting Polygamy is Weakened |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/us/a-utah-law-prohibiting-polygamy-is-weakened.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=13 January 2014 |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Mears |first=Bill |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/14/justice/utah-polygamy-law/ |title='Sister Wives' case: Judge strikes down part of Utah polygamy law |publisher=CNN|access-date=13 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Stack |first=Peggy Fletcher |author-link=Peggy Fletcher Stack |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=57264020&itype=CMSID |title=Laws on Mormon polygamists lead to win for plural marriage |work=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |issn=0746-3502 |access-date=13 January 2014}}</ref> Unlawful cohabitation, where prosecutors did not need to prove that a marriage ceremony had taken place (only that a couple had lived together), had been the primary tool used to prosecute polygamy in Utah since the 1882 [[Edmunds Act]].<ref name=UHE-Polygamy/>

=====Mormon fundamentalism=====
The [[Council of Friends (Woolley)|Council of Friends]] (also known as the Woolley Group and the Priesthood Council)<ref>''Religious Sects, and Cults That Sprang from Mormonism'' (Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers Central Company, 1942).</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Joseph W. |last=Musser |author-link=Joseph White Musser |title=Factions |journal=Truth |volume=9 |issue=24 |pages=94–96}}</ref> was one of the original expressions of [[Mormon fundamentalism]], having its origins in the teachings of [[Lorin C. Woolley]], a dairy farmer excommunicated from the LDS Church in 1924. Several Mormon fundamentalist groups claim lineage through the Council of Friends, including but not limited to, the [[Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints]] (FLDS Church), the [[Apostolic United Brethren]], the [[Centennial Park group]], the [[Latter Day Church of Christ]], and the [[Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]].

=====Community of Christ=====
The [[Community of Christ]], known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church) prior to 2001, has never sanctioned polygamy since its foundation in 1860. [[Joseph Smith III]], the first Prophet-President of the RLDS Church following the reorganization of the Church, was an ardent opponent of the practice of [[plural marriage]] throughout his life. For most of his career, Smith denied that his father had been involved in the practice and insisted that it had originated with Brigham Young. Smith served many missions to the western United States, where he met with and interviewed associates and women claiming to be widows of his father, who attempted to present him with evidence to the contrary. Smith typically responded to such accusations by saying that he was "not positive nor sure that {{bracket|his father}} was innocent",<ref name="Launius1987">{{cite journal |first=Roger D. |last=Launius |author-link=Roger D. Launius |title=Methods and Motives: Joseph Smith III's Opposition to Polygamy, 1860–90 |journal=Dialogue |volume=20 |issue=4 |page=112 |doi=10.2307/45228113 |jstor=45228113 |s2cid=254387866 |issn=0012-2157 |oclc=365871238 |quote=When challenged this way he typically responded . . . 'I am not positive nor sure that he was innocent'. |doi-access=free }}</ref> and that if, indeed, the elder Smith had been involved, it was still a false practice. However, many members of the [[Community of Christ]] and some of the groups that were previously associated with it are not convinced that Joseph Smith practiced plural marriage and they believe that the evidence which indicates that he practiced it is flawed.<ref name="Promeet2013">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://academic.eb.com/EBchecked/topic/498278/Community-of-Christ |title=Community of Christ |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=1 February 2016 |first1=Dutta |last1=Promeet |first2=Yamini |last2=Chauhan |location=London |orig-year=1st pub. 14 June 2007 |url-access=subscription |quote=The Community of Christ . . . claims that polygamy was introduced by Brigham Young and his associates and that the revelation on polygamy, which was made public in 1852 by Young in Utah . . . was not in harmony with the original tenets of the church or with the teachings and practices of Smith.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.restorationbookstore.org/jsfp-index.htm|title=Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy|website=restorationbookstore.org|access-date=2 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218120109/https://www.islamonline.in/2020/06/polygamy-in-islam.html|archive-date=18 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Hinduism===
The [[Rig Veda|''Rigveda'']] mentions that during the [[Vedic period]], a man could have more than one wife.<ref name="Vedic">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6TVLlPvuMAC&pg=PA478 |title=Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, Volume 1; Volume 5 |page=478|isbn=9788120813328 |last1=MacDonell |first1=Arthur Anthony |last2=Keith |first2=Arthur Berriedale |year=1995 }}</ref> The practice is attested in epics like the ''[[Ramayana]]'' and the ''[[Mahabharata]]''. The [[Dharmashastras|''Dharmashastra''s]] permit a man to marry women provided that the first wife agree to marry him.{{Clarification needed}} Despite its existence, it was most usually practiced by men of higher status. Common people were only allowed a second marriage if the first wife could not bear a son or have some dispute because there is no law for divorce in Hinduism.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch |url-access=registration |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N–Z |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc |page=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch/page/514 514]|isbn=9780823931804 |last1=James g. Lochtefeld |first1=PhD }}</ref>

According to the ''[[Vishnu Smriti]]'', the number of wives one could have is linked to one's social class, referred to as ''[[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]]'':
{{blockquote|Now a [[Brahmin|Brāhmaṇa]] may take many wives in the direct order of the (four) knowledge;<br />A [[Kshatriya]] means warrior knowledge, three;<br />A [[Vaishya]] means business knowledge, two;<br />A [[Shudra]] means cleaning knowledge, one only<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe07/sbe07026.htm|title=XXIV.|website=sacred-texts.com}}</ref>}}

This linkage of the number of permitted wives to the varna system is also supported by the ''[[Baudhayana]]'' ''Dharmasutra'' and the ''Paraskara Grihyasutra''.<ref name="MMS"/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jqm0c02RMWYC&pg=PA301 |title=The world wakes up to Islam! |page=301|isbn=9788174355904 |last1=Siddiqui |first1=Moid |year=2009 }}</ref>

The ''[[Apastamba]] Dharmasutra'' and the ''[[Manusmriti]]'' allow marriage to a second wife if the first one is unable to discharge her religious duties or is unable to bear a child or have any dispute because in Hinduism there was no law for divorce.<ref name="MMS">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O-00Ip4W1BUC&pg=PA40 |title=Life in North-eastern India in Pre-Mauryan times |pages=39–40|last1=Singh |first1=Madan Mohan |year=1967 }}</ref>

For a [[Brahmin|Brahmana]], only one wife could rank as the chief consort who performed the religious rites (''dharma-patni'') along with the husband. The chief consort had to be of an equal knowledge. If a man married several women from the same knowledgeable, then the eldest wife held the position of the chief consort.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LnoREHdzxt8C&pg=PA114 |title=Antiquities of India |page=114|isbn=9788171564422 |last1=Barnett |first1=Lionel D. }}</ref> Hindu kings commonly had more than one wife and are regularly attributed four wives by the scriptures. They were: Mahisi, who was the chief consort, Parivrkti, who had no son, Vaivata, who is considered the favorite wife and the Palagali, who was the daughter of the last of the court officials.<ref name="Vedic"/>

Traditional Hindu law allowed polygamy if the first wife could not bear a child.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HGV3noHZ1QMC&pg=PA153 |title=Religion and Personal law in secular India: A call to judgment |page=153|isbn=978-0253214805 |last1=Larson |first1=Gerald James |year=2001 }}</ref>

The [[Hindu Marriage Act]] was enacted in 1955 by the [[Indian Parliament]] and made polygamy illegal for everyone in India except for Muslims. Prior to 1955, polygamy was permitted for Hindus. Marriage laws in India are dependent upon the religion of the parties in question.<ref>[http://www.sudhirlaw.com/Marriages.html Marriages-Divorces] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050901081957/http://www.sudhirlaw.com/Marriages.html }} section at general information website on Indian laws by Sudhir Shah and Associates</ref>

===Islam===
{{Main|Polygyny in Islam}}
In [[Islamic marital jurisprudence]], under reasonable and warranted conditions, a Muslim man may have [[Polygyny|more than one wife]] at the same time, up to a total of four. Muslim women are not permitted to have [[Polyandry|more than one husband]] at the same time under any circumstances.

Based on verse 30:21 of [[Quran]] the ideal relationship is the comfort that a couple find in each other's embrace:
{{blockquote|And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect.|Quran, Sura 30 ([[Ar-Rum]]), Ayah 21<ref name="cite quran|30|21|s=ns">{{cite Quran|30|21|s=ns}}</ref>}}

The polygyny that is allowed in the Quran is for special situations. There are strict requirements to marrying more than one woman, as the man must treat them fairly financially and in terms of support given to each wife, according to Islamic law. However, Islam advises monogamy for a man if he fears he cannot deal justly with his wives. This is based on verse 4:3 of [[Quran]] which says:

{{blockquote|If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or one that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice.|Quran, Sura 4 ([[An-Nisa]]), Ayah 3<ref name="cite quran|4|3|s=ns">{{cite Quran|4|3|s=ns}}</ref>}}

Muslim women are not allowed to marry more than one husband at once. However, in the case of a [[divorce]] or their husbands' death they can remarry after the completion of [[Iddah]], as divorce is legal in Islamic law. A non-Muslim woman who flees from her non-Muslim husband and accepts [[Islam]] has the option to remarry without divorce from her previous husband, as her marriage with non-Muslim husband is Islamically dissolved on her fleeing.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Çiğdem|first=Recep|title=Interfaith marriage in comparative perspective|journal=Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae|language=en|volume=68|issue=1|pages=59–86|doi=10.1556/AOrient.68.2015.1.4|issn=0001-6446|url=http://real.mtak.hu/37242/1/aorient.68.2015.1.4.pdf}}</ref> A non-Muslim woman captured during war by Muslims, can also remarry, as her marriage with her non-Muslim husband is Islamically dissolved at capture by Muslim soldiers.<ref>[[Thomas Hughes]] (1855), ''Dictionary of Islam'', p.59.</ref><ref>[[David Samuel Margoliouth]] (1905), ''Mohammed and the Rise of Islam'', p.407, p.461.</ref> This permission is given to such women in verse 4:24 of Quran. The verse also emphasizes on transparency, mutual agreement and financial compensation as prerequisites for matrimonial relationship as opposed to prostitution; it says:
{{blockquote|Also (prohibited are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess: Thus hath Allah ordained (Prohibitions) against you: Except for these, all others are lawful, provided ye seek (them in marriage) with gifts from your property,- desiring chastity, not lust, seeing that ye derive benefit from them, give them their dowers (at least) as prescribed; but if, after a dower is prescribed, agree Mutually (to vary it), there is no blame on you, and Allah is All-knowing, All-wise.|Quran, Sura 4 ([[An-Nisa]]), Ayah 24<ref name="cite quran|4|24|s=ns">{{cite Quran|4|24 |s=ns}}</ref>}}

[[Muhammad]] was monogamously married to [[Khadija bint Khuwaylid|Khadija]], his first wife, for 25 years, until she died. After her death, he married multiple women. Muhammad had a total of 9 wives at the same time, even though Muslim men were limited to 4 wives. His total wives are 11.

One reason cited for polygyny is that it allows a man to give financial protection to multiple women, who might otherwise not have any support (e.g. widows).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.islamweb.net/ver2/fatwa/ShowFatwa.php?lang=A&Id=18444&Option=FatwaId |title=IslamWeb |publisher=IslamWeb |access-date=13 September 2011}}</ref> However, some Islamic scholars say the wife can set a condition, in the [[nikah|marriage contract]], that the husband cannot marry another woman during their marriage. In such a case, the husband cannot marry another woman as long as he is married to his wife. However, other Islamic scholars state that this condition is not allowed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ahlalhdeeth.com/vb/showthread.php?t=165257 |title=ahlalhdeeth |publisher=ahlalhdeeth |access-date=13 September 2011 |archive-date=14 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214201552/http://www.ahlalhdeeth.com/vb/showthread.php?t=165257 |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to traditional Islamic law, each of those wives keeps their property and assets separate; and are paid [[Mahr]] separately by their husband. Usually the wives have little to no contact with each other and lead separate, individual lives in their own houses, and sometimes in different cities, though they all share the same husband.

In most Muslim-majority countries, polygyny is legal with [[Kuwait]] being the only one where no restrictions are imposed on it. The practice is illegal in Muslim-majority [[Turkey]], [[Tunisia]], [[Albania]], [[Kosovo]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Brunei]], [[Sierra Leone]],[[Guinea]],
[[Kazakhstan]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[Kyrgyzstan ]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XHF8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PT230|title=Women, Islam and Everyday Life: Renegotiating Polygamy in Indonesia|first=Nina|last=Nurmila|publisher=Routledge|via=Google Books|isbn=9781134033706}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thinkafricapress.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fthinkafricapress.com%2Ftunisia%2Ffuture-state-feminism#2848 |title=Tunisia: Protecting Ben Ali's Feminist Legacy |author=Maike Voorhoeve |publisher=[[Think Africa Press]] |access-date=23 January 2015 |archive-date=23 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123221720/http://www.thinkafricapress.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fthinkafricapress.com%2Ftunisia%2Ffuture-state-feminism#2848 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=njPYSxcBV-EC&pg=PA272|title=Social Assessment and Agricultural Reform in Central Asia and Turkey|first1=Ay?e|last1=Kudat|first2=Stan|last2=Peabody|first3=Ça?lar|last3=Keyder|publisher=World Bank Publications|via=Google Books|isbn=9780821346785}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.un.org/press/fr/2007/FEM1625.doc.htm|title= LES EXPERTS DU CEDAW S'INQUIÈTENT DE LA PERSISTANCE DE STÉRÉOTYPES SEXISTES ET DE LA SITUATION DES MINORITÉS EN SERBIE|publisher= [[United Nations]]|access-date= 3 February 2016}}</ref>

Countries that allow polygyny typically also require a man to obtain permission from his previous wives before marrying another, and require the man to prove that he can financially support multiple wives. In [[Malaysia]] and [[Morocco]], a man must justify taking an additional wife at a court hearing before he is allowed to do so.<ref name="Modern">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n4Eye4ilLVkC&pg=PA35 |title=Modern Muslim societies |page=35 |isbn=978-0-7614-7927-7 |last1=Reference |first1=Marshall Cavendish }}</ref> In Sudan, the government encouraged polygyny in 2001 to increase the population.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1493309.stm |title=Omar Hassan al-Bashir, has urged Sudanese men to take more than one wife, claiming that this would the population |publisher=BBC News |access-date=13 September 2011}}</ref>

===Judaism===
{{See also|Pilegesh|Polygyny#Judaism}}
The [[Torah]] contains a few specific regulations that apply to polygamy,<ref name="Coogan2010">{{cite book |last=Coogan |first=Michael |title=God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says |edition=1st |publisher=Twelve. Hachette Book Group |location=New York, Boston |isbn=978-0-446-54525-9 |oclc=505927356 |page=[https://archive.org/details/godsexwhatbi00coog/page/79 79] |url=https://archive.org/details/godsexwhatbi00coog/page/79 }}</ref> such as Exodus 21:10: "If he take another wife for himself; her food, her clothing, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish".<ref name="TJBEX2110">''The Jerusalem Bible: The Holy Scriptures''. Ed. [[Harold Fisch]]. Trans. Fisch. Jerusalem: Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 1980.</ref> Deuteronomy 21:15–17, states that a man must award the inheritance due to a first-born son to the son who was actually born first, even if he hates that son's mother and likes another wife more;<ref>[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0521.htm#15 Deuteronomy 21:15–17] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061003183019/http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0521.htm#15 }} from mechon-mamre.org</ref> and Deuteronomy 17:17 states that the king shall not have too many wives.<ref>{{cite web |title=Deuteronomy 17:17 |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Deuteronomy.17.17 |website=sefaria.org}}</ref> Despite its prevalence in the [[Hebrew Bible]], some scholars do not believe that polygyny was commonly practiced in the biblical era because it required a significant amount of wealth.<ref>Gene McAfee [http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t120.e0669 "Sex"] The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, eds. Oxford University Press 1993. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. 19 March 2010.</ref> [[Michael Coogan]] (and others), in contrast, states that "Polygyny continued to be practiced well into the biblical period, and it is attested among Jews as late as the [[second century CE]]".<ref name=coogan>{{cite book |last=Coogan |first=Michael |title=God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says |edition=1st |publisher=Twelve. Hachette Book Group |location=New York, Boston |isbn=978-0-446-54525-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/godsexwhatbi00coog/page/78 78] |url=https://archive.org/details/godsexwhatbi00coog/page/78 }}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book |editor1-last=Metzger |editor1-first=Bruce M. |editor2-last=Coogan |editor2-first=Michael D. |title=The Oxford Guide to Ideas & Issues of the Bible |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-514917-3 |page=339 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aml3tEWoOVEC&pg=PA339 |quote=polygamy was accepted and practiced throughout Israel's history, although to what extent we cannot be sure, since the sources for the most part are derived from and describe the elite ruling and upper classes.}}
</ref><ref name="Karras2012">
{{cite book |last1=Karras |first1=Ruth Mazo |title=Unmarriages: Women, Men, and Sexual Unions in the Middle Ages |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-0641-8 |page=14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZQZh9r2yU0C&pg=PA14 |quote=In the Second Temple period in Palestine, plural marriage seems to have become less common than earlier, although it was not formally outlawed and was more common in Babylonia. It still appeared in the Talmud and was practiced occasionally in early medieval Europe. Gershom Me'or ha-Golah (the Light of the Exile), an eleventh- century German rabbi, possibly under Christian influence, eventually forbade it.}}</ref>

The [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] show that several smaller [[Second Temple Judaism#Jewish sects|Jewish sects]] forbade polygamy before and during the time of [[Jesus]].<ref name="Vermès1975">
{{cite book|last=Vermès|first=Géza |author-link=Géza Vermès|title=Post-Biblical Jewish Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BcYUAAAAIAAJ|year=1975|publisher=Brill|isbn=90-04-04160-5 |page=76}}
</ref><ref name="Brooke2005">
{{cite book|last=Brooke|first=George J. |title=The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t7TSr36vVkEC|year=2005|publisher=Fortress Press|isbn=978-1-4514-0844-7 |pages=4, 100–101}}
</ref><ref name="Murphy2002">
{{cite book|last=Murphy|first=Catherine M. |title=Wealth in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Qumran Community |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUPIG-TEKR8C&pg=PA380|year=2002|publisher=Brill|isbn=90-04-11934-5|page=380}}
</ref>
The [[Temple Scroll]] (11QT LVII 17–18) seems to prohibit polygamy.<ref name="Brooke2005" /><ref name="Loader2009">{{cite book|last=Loader|first=William |title=The Dead Sea Scrolls on Sexuality: Attitudes Towards Sexuality in Sectarian and Related Literature at Qumran|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9gVjAdUx-cIC&pg=PA45|year=2009|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |isbn=978-0-8028-6391-1|page=45}}</ref> The rabbinical era that began with the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE saw a continuation of some degree of legal acceptance for polygamy. In the [[Talmud|Babylonian Talmud (BT)]], Kiddushin 7a, its states, "[[Rabbah bar Nahmani|Raba]] said: {{bracket|If a man declares,}} 'Be thou betrothed to half of me,' she is betrothed: 'half of thee be betrothed to me,' she is not betrothed."<ref name="BTK7a">''Babylonian Talmud: Kiddushin 7a''. halakhah.com, n.d. 7a. Web. 25 October 2012</ref> The BT during a discussion of [[Levirate marriage]] in Yevamot 65a appears to repeat the precedent found in Exodus 21:10: "[[Rabbah bar Nahmani|Raba]] said: a man may marry wives in addition to the first wife; provided only that he possesses the means to maintain them".<ref name="BTY65a">''Babylonian Talmud: Yevamot 65a''. halakhah.com, n.d. 5a. Web. 25 October 2012</ref> The Jewish Codices began a process of restricting polygamy in Judaism.

Most notable in the rabbinic period on the issue of polygamy, though more specifically for [[Ashkenazi Jews]], was the synod of [[Gershom ben Judah|Rabbeinu Gershom]]. About 1000 CE he called a synod which decided the following particulars: (1) prohibition of polygamy; (2) necessity of obtaining the consent of both parties to a divorce; (3) modification of the rules concerning those who became apostates under compulsion; (4) prohibition against opening correspondence addressed to another.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Routledge companion to Jewish history and historiography|others=Bell, Dean Phillip, 1967–|year=2019|isbn=978-0-429-45892-7|location=Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon|oclc=1055160815}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lapidoth|first=Ruth|title=Israel Yearbook on Human Rights. Edited by Yoram Dinstein and Nitza Shapiro-Libai. [Published under the auspices of the Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University, vol. I (1971), 464 pp. and vol. II (1972), 391 pp.].|journal=Israel Law Review|volume=10|issue=3|pages=408–412|doi=10.1017/s0021223700005355|s2cid=150208678 |issn=0021-2237}}</ref><ref name="Karras2012"/> Some [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardic Jews]] such as [[Abraham David Taroç]], were known to have several wives.

Polygamy was common among Jewish communities in the Levant, possibly due to the influence of Muslim society, with 17% of divorce claims by women being due to complaints over husbands taking additional wives. According to R. [[Joseph Karo]] (16th century author of the last great codification of Jewish law, the Shulchan Aruch), and many other rabbis from Safed, the ban of Rabbeinu Gershom had expired, and therefore even Ashkenazim could marry additional wives. Even in instances where the husband made prenuptial agreements not to marry additional wives, local rabbis found loopholes to allow them to do so anyway.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lamdan |first1=Ruth |title=Levant: Women in the Jewish Communities after the Ottoman Conquest of 1517 |url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/levant-women-in-jewish-communities-after-ottoman-conquest-of-1517 |website=Jewish Women's Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lamdān |first1=Rût |title=A Separate People: Jewish Women in Palestine, Syria, and Egypt in the Sixteenth Century |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-11747-1 |pages=139–157 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OKlYce7f8iAC&pg=PA139}}</ref>

The assembly led by Rabbeinu Gershom instituted a ban on polygamy, but this ban was not well received by the Sephardic communities. In addition to the ban, Gershon also introduced a law called Heter meah rabbanim which allows the men to remarry with the permission from one hundred rabbis from different countries.

In the modern day, polygamy is generally not condoned by Jews.<ref>
{{cite web |title=Polygamy is rare around the world and mostly confined to a few regions |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/12/07/polygamy-is-rare-around-the-world-and-mostly-confined-to-a-few-regions/ |website=Pew Research Center}}
</ref><ref>
* {{cite news |last1=Sedley |first1=David |title=In defiance of Israeli law, polygamy sanctioned by top rabbis |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-defiance-of-israeli-law-polygamy-sanctioned-by-top-rabbis/ |work=timesofisrael.com }}
* {{cite news |last1=Rosenberg |first1=David |title=Polygamous cult uncovered |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/221373 |work=Israel National News }}
* {{cite news |last1=Mandel |first1=Jonah |title=New Jewish group wants to restore polygamy |url=https://www.jpost.com/jewish-world/jewish-news/new-jewish-group-wants-to-restore-polygamy |work=The Jerusalem Post }}
</ref> [[Ashkenazi Jews]] have continued to follow [[Rabbenu Gershom]]'s ban since the 11th century.<ref>[http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/04-Observance/section-55.html Judaism and Polygamy:] "Originally, Gershom's ban was limited in time to the year 1260", and a man "could marry more than one wife if he obtained the special permission of 100 rabbis in 3 countries". From faqs.org</ref> Some [[Mizrahi Jews|Mizrahi]] Jewish communities (particularly [[Yemenite Jews]] and [[Persian Jews]]) discontinued polygyny more recently, after they immigrated to countries where it was forbidden or illegal. [[Israel]] prohibits polygamy by law.<ref>''Penal Law Amendment (Bigamy) Law'', 5719-1959.{{verify source}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=839776|title=The English Law of Bigamy in a Multi-Confessional Society: The Israel Experience|first=P.|last=Shifman|journal=The American Journal of Comparative Law|volume=26|issue=1|pages=79–89|doi=10.2307/839776}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Eglash |first=Ruth |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Israel-2008-State-of-Polygamy |title=Israel 2008: State of Polygamy |work=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=13 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Aburabia |first=Sarab |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027756.html |title=Victims of polygamy |work=Haaretz |access-date=13 September 2011 |archive-date=5 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705051731/https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027756.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In practice, however, the law is loosely enforced, primarily to avoid interference with [[Bedouin]] culture, where polygyny is practiced.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027756.html "Victims of polygamy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705051731/https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027756.html }}, ''Haaretz''</ref> Pre-existing polygynous unions among [[Arab Jews|Jews from Arab countries]] (or other countries where the practice was not prohibited by their tradition and was not illegal) are not subject to this Israeli law. But Mizrahi Jews are not permitted to enter into new polygamous marriages in Israel. However polygamy may still occur in non-European Jewish communities that exist in countries where it is not forbidden, such as Jewish communities in [[Iran]] and [[Morocco]].

Former chief rabbi [[Ovadia Yosef]] has come out in favor of legalizing polygamy and the practice of [[pilegesh]] (concubine) by the Israeli government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=13900&sec=40&con=35|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080414212442/http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=13900&sec=40&con=35|url-status=dead|title=''Polygamy's Practice Stirs Debate in Israel''|archive-date=14 April 2008}}</ref> Tzvi Zohar, a professor from the [[Bar-Ilan University]], recently suggested that based on the opinions of leading [[Halacha|halachic]] authorities, the concept of concubines may serve as a practical halachic justification for premarital or non-marital cohabitation.<ref>{{cite web |last=Navon |first=Emmanuel |url=http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishFeatures/Article.aspx?id=16328 |title=Kosher Sex Without Marriage, a Jerusalem Post article that discusses Jacob Emden's and Tzvi Zohar's views |work=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=13 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://pilegeshpersonals.com/Pilegesh%20Tzvi%20Zohar.pdf |title=Tzvi Zohar's comprehensive academic research on the subject, Akdamot Journal for Jewish Thought 17, 2003, Beit Morasha Press (in Hebrew) |access-date=13 September 2011}}</ref>

===Zoroastrianism===
{{See also|Xwedodah}}
There is limited information about polygamy in Zoroastrian tradition. There is no passage in the [[Avesta]] that favors polygamy or [[monogamy]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sanjana|first=Darab Datsur Peshotan|title=The Position of Zoroastrian Women in Remote Antiquity|year=1982|location=Bombay|pages=40–43}}</ref> However, tradition holds that [[Zoroaster]] had three wives.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/816830360|title=The Hymns of Zoroaster : a New Translation of the Most Ancient Sacred Texts of Iran.|publisher=I.B. Tauris|others=With Introduction and Commentary by M.L. West.|isbn=978-1-283-04838-5|oclc=816830360}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Boyce, Mary.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/33664728|title=A history of Zoroastrianism|publisher=E.J. Brill|isbn=90-04-10474-7|edition=3rd impression, with corrections|location=Leiden|oclc=33664728}}</ref> Polygamy appears to have been a right of spiritual dignitaries and aristocrats.<ref>{{cite web|title=Family Law|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/family-law#i|access-date=2021-01-27|website=iranicaonline.org}}</ref> It is mentioned in foreign writings, such as the [[letter of Tansar]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Boyce|first=Mary|url=https://archive.org/details/TheLetterOfTansarTranslatedByMaryBoyce|title=The Letter of Tansar}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=For those who were the most virtuous and pious, he chose out princesses, that all might desire virtue and chastity. He was content with one or two wives for himself, and disapproved of having many children, saying: to have many children is fitting for the populace, but kings and nobles take pride in the smallness of their families|author=Tansar|title=|source=}}

It was also written about in the 4th century CE by the Roman soldier and historian [[Ammianus Marcellinus]], writing about Zoroastrian communities.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ammianus Marcellinus|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Ammian/23*.html|access-date=2021-01-27|website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=Each man according to his means contracts many or few marriages, whence their affection, divided as it is among various objects, grows cold.|author=Ammianus Marcellinus|title=|source=}}

== Legal status ==
{{See also|Legal status of polygamy}}
[[File:Legality of polygamy.svg|thumb|300px
| <div style="margin:0 0.5em;">
{{legend|#009e73|Polygamy is legal only for Muslims}}
{{legend|#56b4e9|Polygamy is legal}}
{{legend|#0072b2|Polygamy is legal in some regions (Indonesia)}}
{{legend|#d55e00|Polygamy is illegal, but practice is not criminalised}}
{{legend|#000000|Polygamy is illegal and practice criminalised}}
{{legend|#e0e0e0|Legal status unknown}} </div>
{{Bulleted list |style=margin:0.5em 0.5em 0.25em;border-top:1px solid#aaa;font-size:94%; |item_style=line-height:1.3em;
| In India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Singapore, polygamy is only legal for [[Muslim]]s.
| In Nigeria and South Africa, polygamous marriages under customary law and for Muslims are legally recognized.
}} ]]

===International law===
In 2000, the [[United Nations Human Rights Committee]] reported that polygamy violates the [[ICCPR|International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]] (ICCPR), citing concerns that the lack of "equality of treatment with regard to the right to marry" meant that polygamy, restricted to polygyny in practice, violates the dignity of women and should be outlawed.<ref>
{{cite web |title=Equality of Rights Between Men and Women |url=http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/gencomm/hrcom28.htm |publisher=University of Minnesota Human Rights Library}}</ref> Specifically, reports to UN Committees have noted violations of ICCPR due to these inequalities,<ref>
{{cite web |title=OHCHR report |url=http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/ngos/IHRLS_Chad_95.pdf |publisher=Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights}}</ref> and reports to the UN General Assembly have recommended it be outlawed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Report of the Human Rights Committee |url=http://www.ccprcentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/A_63_40_Vol.I_E.pdf |publisher=United Nations General Assembly}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=GENERAL COMMENTS ADOPTED BY THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE UNDER ARTICLE 40, PARAGRAPH 4, OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/13b02776122d4838802568b900360e80 |publisher=United Nations Human Rights Website |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630225551/http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/13b02776122d4838802568b900360e80 |archive-date=30 June 2013 }}</ref>

ICCPR does not apply to countries that have not signed it, which includes many Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia, Brunei, Oman, and South Sudan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=IV-4&chapter=4&lang=en|title=United Nations Treaty Collection|access-date=15 February 2016|archive-date=8 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408174039/https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=IV-4&chapter=4&lang=en|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Canada===
Canada has taken a strong stand against polygamy, and the [[Department of Justice (Canada)|Canadian Department of Justice]] has argued that polygyny is a violation of International Human Rights Law, as a form of gender discrimination.<ref>
{{cite web |title=POLYGYNY AS A VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW |url=http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/other-autre/poly/chap3.html |publisher=Department of Justice, Government of Canada}}
</ref> In Canada, the federal [[Criminal Code (Canada)|Criminal Code]] applies throughout the country. It extends the definition of polygamy to having any kind of conjugal union with more than one person at the same time. Also anyone who assists, celebrates, or is a part to a rite, ceremony, or contract that sanctions a polygamist relationship is guilty of polygamy. Polygamy is an offence punishable by up to five years in prison. In 2017, two Canadian religious leaders were found guilty of practicing polygamy by the [[Supreme Court of British Columbia]].<ref name="bbc.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40709250|title=Canadian polygamists found guilty|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> Both of them are former bishops of the Mormon denomination of the [[Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]] (FLDS).<ref name="bbc.com"/>

===Russia===
{{Excerpt|Polygamy in Russia}}

===United Kingdom===
Bigamy is illegal in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/336403/Polygamous-marriage-not-legal-in-UK|title=Polygamous marriage not legal in UK|first=Daily Express|last=reporter}}</ref> ''De facto'' polygamy (having multiple partners at the same time) is not a criminal offence, provided the person does not register more than one marriage at the same time. In the UK, adultery is not a criminal offence (it is only a [[ground for divorce]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/divorce/overview|title=Get a divorce – GOV.UK|website=gov.uk}}</ref>). In a written answer to the House of Commons, "In Great Britain, polygamy is only recognized as valid in law in circumstances where the marriage ceremony has been performed in a country whose laws permit polygamy and the parties to the marriage were domiciled there at the time. In addition, immigration rules have generally prevented the formation of polygamous households in this country since 1988."<ref>{{cite hansard |jurisdiction=United Kingdom |house=House of Commons |column=755W |speaker=James Plaskitt}}</ref>

The 2010 UK government decided that Universal Credit (UC), which replaces means-tested benefits and tax credits for working-age people and will not be completely introduced until 2021, will not recognize polygamous marriages. A House of Commons briefing paper states "Treating second and subsequent partners in polygamous relationships as separate claimants could in some situations mean that polygamous households receive more under Universal Credit than they do under the current rules for means-tested benefits and tax credits. This is because, as explained above, the amounts which may be paid in respect of additional spouses are lower than those which generally apply to single claimants." There is currently no official statistics data on cohabiting polygamous couples who have arranged marriage in religious ceremonies.<ref name=UKPOLY>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/sn05051.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20181113063153/http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/sn05051.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 November 2018 |title=House of Commons Library Briefing Paper Number 05051: Polygamy |publisher=[[House of Commons Library]] }}</ref>

===United States===

[[File:Utah_in_United_States.svg|thumb|Polygamy in [[Utah]] remains a controversial issue that has been subject to legislative battles throughout the years; it is currently an [[infraction]]; and recognition of polygamy is illegal under the [[Constitution of Utah]].]]

{{Further|Legality of polygamy in the United States}}
{{see also|Mormonism and polygamy|Mormon fundamentalism|Current state of polygamy in the Latter Day Saint movement}}

Polygamy is illegal in all 50 states in the [[United States|U.S]]. In the state of [[Utah]] it currently remains a controversial issue that has been subject to legislative battles throughout the years. As of 2020 Utah is the only state where the practice is a designated as an [[infraction]] rather than the more serious designation as a crime. However, recognizing polygamous unions is still illegal under the [[Constitution of Utah]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/polygamy-is-essentially-decriminalized-in-utah-under-a-bill-signed-into-law|title = Polygamy is essentially decriminalized in Utah under a bill signed into law|date = 29 March 2020}}</ref> Federal legislation to outlaw the practice was endorsed as constitutional in 1878 by the Supreme Court in ''[[Reynolds v. United States]],'' despite the religious objections of [[Mormonism]]'s largest denomination the [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church). The LDS Church subsequently ended the practice of polygamy around the turn of the twentieth century;<ref>{{cite web|title=Official Declaration 1|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/od/1?lang=eng|access-date=2021-08-27|website=churchofjesuschrist.org}}</ref> however, several smaller [[Mormon fundamentalism|fundamentalist Mormon]] groups across the state (not associated with the mainstream Church) continue the practice.

On 13 December 2013, a [[United States district court|federal judge]], spurred by the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] and other groups,<ref>[https://www.aclu.org/religion/frb/16163prs19990716.html ACLU of Utah to Join Polygamists in Bigamy Fight], 16 July 1999 press release.</ref> struck down the parts of Utah's bigamy law that criminalized cohabitation, while also acknowledging that the state may still enforce bans on having multiple marriage licenses.<ref name=utahban>{{cite web |url=http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56894145-78/utah-waddoups-brown-family.html.csp |title=Federal judge declared Utah polygamy law unconstitutional |work=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |issn=0746-3502 }}</ref> This decision was overturned by the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit]], thus effectively recriminalizing polygamy as a felony.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-utah-polygamy-sisterwives-idUSKCN0X82AJ|title = Appeals court restores Utah's polygamy law in 'Sister Wives' case|work = Reuters|date = 11 April 2016}}</ref> In 2020, Utah voted to downgrade polygamy from a felony to an infraction, but it remains a felony if force, threats or other abuses are involved.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/13/us/utah-bigamy-law.html |title=Utah Lowers Penalty for Polygamy, No Longer a Felony |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2022-02-14}}</ref>

Prosecutors in Utah have long had a policy of not pursuing polygamy in the absence of other associated crimes (e.g. fraud, abuse, marriage of underage persons, etc.).<ref>{{cite web|title=Brown v. Buhman, No. 14-4117 (10th Cir. 2016)|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca10/14-4117/14-4117-2016-04-11.html|access-date=2021-08-27|website=Justia Law|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.deseret.com/2011/7/12/20203261/sister-wives-family-to-challenge-utah-bigamy-law |title='Sister Wives' family to challenge Utah bigamy law |newspaper=[[Deseret News]] |access-date=2022-02-14}}</ref> There are about 30,000 people living in polygamous communities in Utah.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/polygamists-face-jail-time-utah-bill-68893806|title = Polygamists may not face jail time under new Utah bill|website = [[ABC News]]}}</ref>

[[Individualist feminism]] and advocates such as [[Wendy McElroy]] and journalist Jillian Keenan support the freedom for adults to voluntarily enter polygamous marriages.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Bruce |last=Korol |year=2009 |title=Polygamy is a (al)right |journal=Arts & Opinion |volume=8 |issue=3}} [http://www.wendymcelroy.com/print.php?news.2384 Reprinted] by Wendy McElroy at wendymcelroy.com</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Jillian |last=Keenan |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/04/legalize_polygamy_marriage_equality_for_all.html |title=Legalize Polygamy! No. I am not kidding |journal=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] }}</ref>

Authors such as Alyssa Rower and Samantha Slark argue that there is a case for legalizing polygamy on the basis of regulation and monitoring of the practice, legally protecting the polygamous partners and allowing them to join mainstream society instead of forcing them to hide from it when any public situation arises.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=25740483|title=The Legality of Polygamy: Using the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment|first=ALYSSA|last=ROWER|journal=Family Law Quarterly|volume=38|issue=3|pages=711–731}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Slark |first1=Samantha |title=Are Anti-Polgygamy Laws an Unconstitutional Infringement on the Liberty Interests of Consenting Adults?|journal=Journal of Law and Family Studies |volume=6|pages=451–460 |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/jlfst6&div=36&id=&page=}}</ref>

In an October 2004 op-ed for ''[[USA Today]]'', [[George Washington University]] law professor [[Jonathan Turley]] argued that, as a simple matter of equal treatment under the law, polygamy ought to be legal. Acknowledging that underage girls are sometimes coerced into polygamous marriages, Turley replied that "banning polygamy is no more a solution to child abuse than banning marriage would be a solution to spousal abuse".<ref>[http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/2004-10-03-turley_x.htm "Polygamy laws expose our own hypocrisy"]. Jonathan Turley, ''USA Today'' (3 March 2004)</ref>

[[Stanley Kurtz]], a [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] fellow at the [[Hudson Institute]], rejects the decriminalization and legalization of polygamy. He stated:

{{Blockquote|Marriage, as its ultramodern critics would like to say, is indeed about choosing one's partner, and about freedom in a society that values freedom. But that's not the only thing it is about. As the Supreme Court justices who unanimously decided Reynolds in 1878 understood, marriage is also about sustaining the conditions in which freedom can thrive. Polygamy in all its forms is a recipe for social structures that inhibit and ultimately undermine social freedom and democracy. A hard-won lesson of Western history is that genuine democratic self-rule begins at the hearth of the monogamous family.<ref name="Polygamy vs. Democracy">[http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/266jhfgd.asp?nopager=1 "Polygamy vs. Democracy"]. ''The Weekly Standard''. Published: 5 June 2006.</ref>}}

In January 2015, Pastor Neil Patrick Carrick of Detroit, Michigan, brought a case (''[[Carrick v. Snyder]]'') against the State of Michigan that the state's ban of polygamy violates the [[Free Exercise Clause|Free Exercise]] and [[Equal Protection Clause]] of the U.S. Constitution.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dockets.justia.com/docket/michigan/miedce/5:2015cv10108/297820 |title=Carrick v. Snyder et al |work=Justia Dockets & Filings}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2015/01/13/minister-sues-mich-right-marry-sex-couples/21718645/ |title=Minister sues Mich. for right to marry same-sex couples |author=Oralandar Brand-Williams, The Detroit News |work=The Detroit News}}</ref> The case was dismissed with prejudice on 10 February 2016, for lack of standing.<ref>{{cite web|last=Judge|first=JUDITH E. LEVY, District|title=CARRICK v. SNYDER {{!}} Case No. 15-cv-10108. {{!}} By... {{!}} 20160211c62{{!}} Leagle.com|url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20160211c62|access-date=2021-09-08|website=Leagle|language=en}}</ref>

=== Indonesia ===
Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country. Most of the polygamy families come from Muslim family, also come from aristocrats, registered civil servants, Islamic students (santri), and wholesalers.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://historia.id/kultur/articles/angka-poligami-dari-masa-ke-masa-vgXwV | title=Angka Poligami dari Masa ke Masa | date=25 June 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.kemenpppa.go.id/index.php/page/read/29/3140/poligami-tak-sesuai-syariat-berpotensi-rugikan-perempuan | title=Kementerian Pemberdayaan Perempuan Dan Perlindungan Anak }}</ref>

Constitutionally, Indonesia (basically) only recognize monogamy. But, government allows polygamy in some conditions:
* The wife cannot carry out her obligations as a wife.
* The wife has a physical disability or an incurable disease.
* The wife cannot bear children.

There are other requirements for registered civil servants.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://msscounsel.com/2021/11/15/poligami-dalam-sistem-hukum-republik-indonesia/ | title=Poligami Dalam Sistem Hukum Republik Indonesia | date=15 November 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hukumonline.com/klinik/a/hukum-poligami-dan-prosedurnya-yang-sah-di-indonesia-lt5136cbfaaeef9 | title=Hukum Poligami dan Prosedurnya yang Sah di Indonesia - Klinik Hukumonline }}</ref>

==Post-war Germany plans==

In [[Nazi Germany]], there was an effort by [[Martin Bormann]] and [[Heinrich Himmler]] to introduce new legislation concerning plural marriage.<ref name="fest686">{{cite book |last=Fest |first=Joachim C. |author-link=Joachim Fest |title=Hitler |publisher=Verlag Ulstein |year=1973|page=686|isbn=0-15-602754-2}}</ref> The argument ran that after the war, 3 to 4 million women would have to remain unmarried due to the great number of soldiers fallen in battle. In order to make it possible for these women to have children, a procedure for application and selection for suitable men (i.e. decorated war heroes) to enter a marital relationship with an additional woman was planned.<ref name="fest686"/> The privileged position of the first wife was to be secured by awarding her the title ''[[Dominus (title)|Domina]]''.<ref name="fest686"/>

{{blockquote|The greatest fighter deserves the most beautiful woman ... If the German man is to be unreservedly ready to die as a soldier, he must have the freedom to love unreservedly. For struggle and love belong together. The [[Philistinism|philistine]] should be glad if he gets whatever is left|Adolf Hitler<ref name="fest686"/>}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Human sexuality|Society|Law|Religion|Latter Day Saint movement}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em|small=yes}}
* [[Polygyny]]
* [[Polyandry]]
* [[Bigamy]]
* [[Polyamory]]
* [[Conflict of marriage laws#Polygamy|Conflict of marriage laws]]
* [[Legal status of polygamy]]
* [[List of polygamy court cases]]
* [[More danico]]
* [[Ménage à trois]]
* [[Polyday]]
* [[Serial monogamy]]
* [[Types of marriages]]
* [[Unicorn hunting]]
* [[List of people with the most children]]
{{div col end}}


==Notes==
{{reflist|group="note"}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book | last = Boserup | first = Ester | author-link = Ester Boserup | contribution = The economics of polygamy | editor-last1 = Grinker | editor-first1 = Roy Richard | editor-last2 = Steiner | editor-first2 = Christopher B. | title = Perspectives on Africa: a reader in culture, history, and representation | pages = [https://archive.org/details/perspectivesonaf00royr/page/506 506–517] | publisher = Blackwell | location = Cambridge, Massachusetts | year = 1997 | isbn = 9781557866868 | url = https://archive.org/details/perspectivesonaf00royr/page/506 }}
* {{cite book |author=Cairncross, John |title=After Polygamy Was Made a Sin: The Social History of Christian Polygamy |location=London |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |year=1974 |url=http://www.patriarchpublishinghouse.com/3345.htm}}
* {{cite book |author=Chapman, Samuel A. |title=Polygamy, Bigamy and Human Rights Law |publisher=Xlibris Corp |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-4010-1244-1}}{{Self-published inline|certain=yes}}
* {{cite book |author=Hillman, Eugene |title=Polygamy Reconsidered: African Plural Marriage and the Christian Churches |location=New York |publisher=Orbis Books |isbn=978-0-88344-391-0 |year=1975}}
* {{cite book |title=World Religions and Social Evolution of the Old World Oikumene Civilizations: A Cross-cultural Perspective |edition=First |last=Korotayev |first=Andrey |author-link=Andrey Korotayev |publisher=[[Edwin Mellen Press]] |location=[[Lewiston, New York]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7734-6310-3}}
* {{cite book |author=Van Wagoner, Richard S. |author-link=Richard S. Van Wagoner |title=Mormon Polygamy: A History |edition=2nd |year=1992 |location=Utah |publisher=Signature Books |isbn=978-0-941214-79-7}}
* {{cite book |first=E. O. |last=Wilson |author-link=E. O. Wilson |title=Sociobiology: The New Synthesis |publisher=Harvard Univ Pr |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-674-00235-7|title-link=Sociobiology: The New Synthesis }}

==External links==

{{Wikisource|Portal:Polygamy}}

{{wikibooks|Relationships/Monogamy and Polygamy}}
{{wikiversity|Should polygamy be legal?}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061001201253/http://shamash.org/lists/scj-faq/HTML/faq/08-06.html History of Polygamy in Judaism]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111118073048/http://www.life.com/gallery/49551/rare-life-with-polygamists-1944#index/0 "LIFE with Polygamists", 1944]—slideshow by ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' {{dead link}}
* [http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-1224-5-things-i-learned-as-mormon-polygamist-wife.html 5 Things I Learned as a Mormon Polygamous Wife]

{{Polygamous marriage}}
{{Close plural relationships}}
{{Types of marriages|state=autocollapse}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Crimes]]
[[Category:Polygamy| ]]
[[Category:Mating systems]]
[[Category:Religion and politics]]

Digambar Ramchandra Badge

2022-02-10T04:02:02Z

Williamscott: Introduced an original page.

#REDIRECT [[Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi]]