March 16, 1999 Is Monogamy the Best Form of Marriage? In the United States, marriage is a commitment two people make for the rest of their lives. The average American marriage lasts seven years. Well over half of all marriages end in divorce (Francouer, 72). Statistics in the infidelity have rose fifty percent since the 1970s and is rising all the time. The divorce count in this country is now up to one out of every three-marriage end in divorce. Serial polygamy is a common lifestyle for those who are divorced and then become remarried. The relationship between a husband and wife should be sacred and trustworthy. Without the trust and honesty there is no marriage. Monogamy is the loving, sharing, and devoting one's self to another person for the rest of their life. Monogamy should be the most important aspect in a marriage. The Western Religious leaders and moralists believe only one spouse for life is the highest form of marriage. Some of the most "primitive" peoples are strictly monogamous in their ideals, while some "highly advanced" cultures have moved away from the strict life-long monogamy. Sociologists, Ford and Beech, have found that only twenty-nine of the one-hundred and eighty-five contemporary cultures studied, less than sixteen percent restrict men and women to a single partner for life. However, less than one-third of the twenty-nine monogamous cultures completely disapprove of both premarital and extramarital relations (Francouer 72). For centuries, marriage was a dynastic affair, arranged by the parents and families. During the Middle Ages, they thought of marriage as a passionate love for an unattainable woman, usually the wife of a noble lord. In the 1970s, extramarital sex was estimated at as many as fifty-seventy percent of husbands and wives had been unfaithful at least once during their marriage (Francouer 73). Ho...
