stevenlmeyer,
"the Judaeo-Christian model"

Have a read of marriage in different cultures.

http://family.jrank.org/pages/1118/Marriage-Ceremonies.html

Feminist de facto relationships, gay marriages and polygamous marriages are the aberration and not the norm.

But I have noticed it has become very trendy to attempt to associate heterosexual marriage with a Judaeo-Christianity, and also to attempt to associate heterosexual marriage with abuse and domestic violence.

Actually 'the state' should probably butt out of marriage completely.

As for incestuous relationships, yes they are being debated:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/switzerland/8198917/Switzerland-considers-repealing-incest-laws.html

Quote:

"The upper house of the Swiss parliament has drafted a law decriminalising sex between consenting family members which must now be considered by the government."

So, if the definition of marriage is changed, so that it includes relationships that are biologically incapable of producing offspring without a third party, regardless of the fecundity (ah, I like that word), what about, in the name of inclusiveness, society agreeing to gay marriage between brothers and between sisters, of the same sex, that is. No children could be involved. Numbers would be small, sure, but why exclude people from marriage who love each other just because they have the same parents?

It is then only a short hop to incestuous marriages between people who agree to be medically altered so not as to be able to have offspring.

All in the name of love, of course.

Seems like a simple problem to me.

Obviously, any bloke who wanted more than one wife, is a nut case. We should lock them up in something like the old mental institution, as they are definitely a danger to themselves, & probably the general population as well.

Polygamy is also a way to quickly increase the numbers in these religious cults by having many more women than men in the society and thus greatly boosting the baby production. Sort of the opposite of the Chinese not wanting girl babies and actually quietly killing a lot of them when they were born so as to reduce the unsustainable population in China last century.

With the moslems it may well be a way to avoid intregrating into western society too, by bringing in lots of moslem women to reproduce and using religion as an excuse to practice discrimination against women of their adopted country. You know, the old racial discrimination under the guise of religion. These kind of cultural and religious customs usually have their beginnings in some king of payoff for the humans involved.

HASBEEN

What about women who want more than one husband and would like to have children to different fathers so as to enhance their offspring’s genetic variety and strengths. Any objections to that? After all there is daycare today and woman have fulltime jobs so the cost of the children could be shared between the relevant mothers and fathers.

Pity Antiseptic wasn't here to address that question as well. Stir him up a bit.

Statistics should show that 1/3 of world's population live in a society where monogamy is the only legal form of marriage.

I have 2 life partners or (spouses if you like) - if I am not "marrying" under age girls or coveting my neighbour's wife. his house or field, or his male or female slave, or his ox, donkey,(perish the thought!) or anything that belongs to my neighbour.

As long as I don't cheat the welfare system or tax department and my kids are safe and in an environment that doesn't affect their physical or emotional welfare, then why should anyone take offence?