Elizabeth Brake
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199774142
- eISBN:
- 9780199933228
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199774142.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy
Even in secular contexts, marriage retains sacramental connotations. Yet what is its moral significance? This book examines its morally salient features – promise, commitment, care, and contract – ...
More
Even in secular contexts, marriage retains sacramental connotations. Yet what is its moral significance? This book examines its morally salient features – promise, commitment, care, and contract – with surprising results. In Part One, “De-Moralizing Marriage,” essays on promise and commitment argue that we cannot promise to love and so wedding vows are (mostly) failed promises, and that marriage may be a poor commitment strategy. The book contends with philosophical defenses of marriage to argue that marriage has no inherent moral significance. Further, privileging marriage sustains amatonormative discrimination – discrimination against non-amorous or non-exclusive caring relationships such as friendships, adult care networks, or polyamorous groups. The discussion raises issues of independent interest for the moral philosopher such as the limits of promising and nature of commitment. The central argument of Part Two, “Democratizing Marriage,” is that liberal reasons for recognizing same-sex marriage also require recognition of polyamorists, polygamists, friends, urban tribes, and adult care networks. Political liberalism requires the disestablishment of monogamous amatonormative marriage. Under public reason, a liberal state must refrain from basing law solely on moral or religious doctrines; but only such doctrines could furnish reason for restricting marriage to male-female couples or romantic dyads. Restrictions on marriage should be minimized. But there is a strong rationale for minimal marriage: social supports for care are a matter of fundamental justice. Part Two responds to challenges posed by property division, polygyny, and parenting, builds on feminist, queer, and anti-racist critiques of marriage, and argues for the compatibility of liberalism and feminism.Less
Even in secular contexts, marriage retains sacramental connotations. Yet what is its moral significance? This book examines its morally salient features – promise, commitment, care, and contract – with surprising results. In Part One, “De-Moralizing Marriage,” essays on promise and commitment argue that we cannot promise to love and so wedding vows are (mostly) failed promises, and that marriage may be a poor commitment strategy. The book contends with philosophical defenses of marriage to argue that marriage has no inherent moral significance. Further, privileging marriage sustains amatonormative discrimination – discrimination against non-amorous or non-exclusive caring relationships such as friendships, adult care networks, or polyamorous groups. The discussion raises issues of independent interest for the moral philosopher such as the limits of promising and nature of commitment. The central argument of Part Two, “Democratizing Marriage,” is that liberal reasons for recognizing same-sex marriage also require recognition of polyamorists, polygamists, friends, urban tribes, and adult care networks. Political liberalism requires the disestablishment of monogamous amatonormative marriage. Under public reason, a liberal state must refrain from basing law solely on moral or religious doctrines; but only such doctrines could furnish reason for restricting marriage to male-female couples or romantic dyads. Restrictions on marriage should be minimized. But there is a strong rationale for minimal marriage: social supports for care are a matter of fundamental justice. Part Two responds to challenges posed by property division, polygyny, and parenting, builds on feminist, queer, and anti-racist critiques of marriage, and argues for the compatibility of liberalism and feminism.
Stephen Macedo
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691166483
- eISBN:
- 9781400865857
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691166483.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
The institution of marriage stands at a critical juncture. As gay marriage equality gains acceptance in law and public opinion, questions abound regarding marriage's future. Will same-sex marriage ...
More
The institution of marriage stands at a critical juncture. As gay marriage equality gains acceptance in law and public opinion, questions abound regarding marriage's future. Will same-sex marriage lead to more radical marriage reform? Should it? Antonin Scalia and many others on the right warn of a slippery slope from same-sex marriage toward polygamy, adult incest, and the dissolution of marriage as we know it. Equally, many academics, activists, and intellectuals on the left contend that there is no place for monogamous marriage as a special status defined by law. This book demonstrates that both sides are wrong: the same principles of democratic justice that demand marriage equality for same-sex couples also lend support to monogamous marriage. The book displays the groundlessness of arguments against same-sex marriage and defends marriage as a public institution against those who would eliminate its special status or supplant it with private arrangements. Arguing that monogamy reflects and cultivates our most basic democratic values, the book opposes the legal recognition of polygamy, but agrees with progressives that public policies should do more to support nontraditional caring and caregiving relationships. Throughout, the book explores the meaning of contemporary marriage and the reasons for its fragility and its enduring significance. Casting new light on today's debates over the future of marriage, the book lays the groundwork for a stronger institution.Less
The institution of marriage stands at a critical juncture. As gay marriage equality gains acceptance in law and public opinion, questions abound regarding marriage's future. Will same-sex marriage lead to more radical marriage reform? Should it? Antonin Scalia and many others on the right warn of a slippery slope from same-sex marriage toward polygamy, adult incest, and the dissolution of marriage as we know it. Equally, many academics, activists, and intellectuals on the left contend that there is no place for monogamous marriage as a special status defined by law. This book demonstrates that both sides are wrong: the same principles of democratic justice that demand marriage equality for same-sex couples also lend support to monogamous marriage. The book displays the groundlessness of arguments against same-sex marriage and defends marriage as a public institution against those who would eliminate its special status or supplant it with private arrangements. Arguing that monogamy reflects and cultivates our most basic democratic values, the book opposes the legal recognition of polygamy, but agrees with progressives that public policies should do more to support nontraditional caring and caregiving relationships. Throughout, the book explores the meaning of contemporary marriage and the reasons for its fragility and its enduring significance. Casting new light on today's debates over the future of marriage, the book lays the groundwork for a stronger institution.
George P. Fletcher
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195156287
- eISBN:
- 9780199872169
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195156285.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter juxtaposes the role of government with the “paradox” of freedom. The U.S. government's varying role in regulating issues of employment (in Lochner), sexual relations (rape law, polygamy, ...
More
This chapter juxtaposes the role of government with the “paradox” of freedom. The U.S. government's varying role in regulating issues of employment (in Lochner), sexual relations (rape law, polygamy, sexual harassment), and questions of income tax, assisted suicide, and abortion are discussed.Less
This chapter juxtaposes the role of government with the “paradox” of freedom. The U.S. government's varying role in regulating issues of employment (in Lochner), sexual relations (rape law, polygamy, sexual harassment), and questions of income tax, assisted suicide, and abortion are discussed.
Sarah M. Pike
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195177299
- eISBN:
- 9780199785537
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195177299.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
New religious movements have typically emerged and thrived in times of social upheaval during which normative gender roles are challenged, such as in the United States during the industrializing ...
More
New religious movements have typically emerged and thrived in times of social upheaval during which normative gender roles are challenged, such as in the United States during the industrializing mid-19th century and in the 1960s-1970s. New religions offer a range of roles for men and women that are shaped by a variety of different factors, including mythology, conceptions of deity, the role and teachings of the founder and leaders, and the demographic background of participants. Gender roles in NRMs include hierarchical models, role reversals, partnerships, and androgynous models. NRMs have typically experimented with alternative sex, marriage, and family structures, including celibacy, polygamy, and free love.Less
New religious movements have typically emerged and thrived in times of social upheaval during which normative gender roles are challenged, such as in the United States during the industrializing mid-19th century and in the 1960s-1970s. New religions offer a range of roles for men and women that are shaped by a variety of different factors, including mythology, conceptions of deity, the role and teachings of the founder and leaders, and the demographic background of participants. Gender roles in NRMs include hierarchical models, role reversals, partnerships, and androgynous models. NRMs have typically experimented with alternative sex, marriage, and family structures, including celibacy, polygamy, and free love.
Elizabeth E. Prevost
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199570744
- eISBN:
- 9780191722097
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199570744.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
This chapter examines the next generation of Anglican women's mission work in Uganda through the growth of the Mothers' Union. Concerns about ‘nominal Christianity’ persisted after the institution of ...
More
This chapter examines the next generation of Anglican women's mission work in Uganda through the growth of the Mothers' Union. Concerns about ‘nominal Christianity’ persisted after the institution of the Church of Uganda, and the MU provided a new way to interrogate the relationship between outward, corporate manifestations of Christianity and inner spiritual life. The fluidity of Christian and non‐Christian parameters and the persistence of polygamy made missionary women confront their prior understandings of marriage, domesticity, ‘progress,’ and national identity. British and African women approached motherhood as a shared medium of religious and social authority, and used prayer and revivals to construct a hybrid discourse of evangelicalism that appropriated male clerical functions. The MU's influence in the mission church and its potential to transgress clerical and social boundaries were revealed by the widespread resistance to the organization by African men.Less
This chapter examines the next generation of Anglican women's mission work in Uganda through the growth of the Mothers' Union. Concerns about ‘nominal Christianity’ persisted after the institution of the Church of Uganda, and the MU provided a new way to interrogate the relationship between outward, corporate manifestations of Christianity and inner spiritual life. The fluidity of Christian and non‐Christian parameters and the persistence of polygamy made missionary women confront their prior understandings of marriage, domesticity, ‘progress,’ and national identity. British and African women approached motherhood as a shared medium of religious and social authority, and used prayer and revivals to construct a hybrid discourse of evangelicalism that appropriated male clerical functions. The MU's influence in the mission church and its potential to transgress clerical and social boundaries were revealed by the widespread resistance to the organization by African men.
Stephen Macedo
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691166483
- eISBN:
- 9781400865857
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691166483.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
This book offers arguments in defense of same-sex marriage, marriage (as a distinctive relationship defined by law), and monogamy. It considers the acrimonious debate over same-sex marriage and two ...
More
This book offers arguments in defense of same-sex marriage, marriage (as a distinctive relationship defined by law), and monogamy. It considers the acrimonious debate over same-sex marriage and two sets of issues that arise from this debate and that are closely intertwined with marriage: sexual ethics and children's wellbeing. It also examines the ramifications of same-sex marriage for the meaning and future of marriage and asks whether the recognition of same-sex marriage will end marriage as we have known it, or whether civil marriage and monogamy are still justifiable and viable. Finally, the book explores the wider and deeper questions raised by the debate over marriage concerning liberalism as public philosophy. Parts 1 and 2 of the book make the cases for same-sex wedlock and marriage as a special status in civil law, whereas Part 3 focuses on the intersection of polygamy, monogamy, and democracy. The introduction provides an overview of the chapters that follow.Less
This book offers arguments in defense of same-sex marriage, marriage (as a distinctive relationship defined by law), and monogamy. It considers the acrimonious debate over same-sex marriage and two sets of issues that arise from this debate and that are closely intertwined with marriage: sexual ethics and children's wellbeing. It also examines the ramifications of same-sex marriage for the meaning and future of marriage and asks whether the recognition of same-sex marriage will end marriage as we have known it, or whether civil marriage and monogamy are still justifiable and viable. Finally, the book explores the wider and deeper questions raised by the debate over marriage concerning liberalism as public philosophy. Parts 1 and 2 of the book make the cases for same-sex wedlock and marriage as a special status in civil law, whereas Part 3 focuses on the intersection of polygamy, monogamy, and democracy. The introduction provides an overview of the chapters that follow.
Stephen Macedo
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691166483
- eISBN:
- 9781400865857
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691166483.003.0008
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
This chapter examines the different forms of plural marriage and provides some historical background and context, focusing on the long-running conflict around polygamy in the Mormon Church in North ...
More
This chapter examines the different forms of plural marriage and provides some historical background and context, focusing on the long-running conflict around polygamy in the Mormon Church in North America. It asks whether we can justify prohibiting or denying recognition to polygamous marriages, whether we ought to drop restrictions based on numbers and focus on the quality of people's relationships, and on what grounds nonrecognition and discouragement of polygamy can be justified. It also considers the so-called “polyamory” and argues that same-sex marriage and polygamy have little in common, aside from being deviations from “traditional” monogamy. Finally, it explores plural marriage as a doctrinal tenet of the Mormons and the 1947 Supreme Court case Reynolds v. United States.Less
This chapter examines the different forms of plural marriage and provides some historical background and context, focusing on the long-running conflict around polygamy in the Mormon Church in North America. It asks whether we can justify prohibiting or denying recognition to polygamous marriages, whether we ought to drop restrictions based on numbers and focus on the quality of people's relationships, and on what grounds nonrecognition and discouragement of polygamy can be justified. It also considers the so-called “polyamory” and argues that same-sex marriage and polygamy have little in common, aside from being deviations from “traditional” monogamy. Finally, it explores plural marriage as a doctrinal tenet of the Mormons and the 1947 Supreme Court case Reynolds v. United States.
Stephen Macedo
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691166483
- eISBN:
- 9781400865857
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691166483.003.0009
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
This chapter examines a variety of principled factors that help to distinguish plural marriage from same-sex marriage as a matter of both justice and constitutional principle. It also reviews the ...
More
This chapter examines a variety of principled factors that help to distinguish plural marriage from same-sex marriage as a matter of both justice and constitutional principle. It also reviews the substantial body of evidence that led the Supreme Court of British Columbia, in a 2012 landmark case, to uphold Canada's criminal prohibition on polygamy. It argues that this evidentiary record, while certainly not beyond challenge, stands in contrast to the abstract and moralistic arguments advanced against the rights of gay and lesbian citizens. It asserts that polygamy as a widespread practice, or normative system, appears to be incongruent with efforts to secure the preconditions of equal liberty and fair opportunity for all. The chapter concludes by speculating on what the consequences of decriminalization will be for polygamy.Less
This chapter examines a variety of principled factors that help to distinguish plural marriage from same-sex marriage as a matter of both justice and constitutional principle. It also reviews the substantial body of evidence that led the Supreme Court of British Columbia, in a 2012 landmark case, to uphold Canada's criminal prohibition on polygamy. It argues that this evidentiary record, while certainly not beyond challenge, stands in contrast to the abstract and moralistic arguments advanced against the rights of gay and lesbian citizens. It asserts that polygamy as a widespread practice, or normative system, appears to be incongruent with efforts to secure the preconditions of equal liberty and fair opportunity for all. The chapter concludes by speculating on what the consequences of decriminalization will be for polygamy.
Stephen Macedo
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691166483
- eISBN:
- 9781400865857
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691166483.003.0010
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
This chapter examines the Kody Brown case and the issues it raised regarding polygamy. In 2013, a federal court in Utah struck down that state's criminal prohibition based on considerations ...
More
This chapter examines the Kody Brown case and the issues it raised regarding polygamy. In 2013, a federal court in Utah struck down that state's criminal prohibition based on considerations altogether different from those taken into account in British Columbia. The case involved Kody Brown and his four wives. The Browns are “members of a religious group that believes polygamy is a core religious practice.” The county attorney charged with defending the Utah law in the federal district court filed a seven-page memorandum that Judge Clark Waddoups described as lacking in substance. The chapter discusses Waddoups's claim about the perceived “social harm” of Mormon polygamy and asks whether legal prohibitions against adult incest can be justified when partners avoid having children. Finally, it considers the new, “postmodern” form of plural relationship known as polyamory.Less
This chapter examines the Kody Brown case and the issues it raised regarding polygamy. In 2013, a federal court in Utah struck down that state's criminal prohibition based on considerations altogether different from those taken into account in British Columbia. The case involved Kody Brown and his four wives. The Browns are “members of a religious group that believes polygamy is a core religious practice.” The county attorney charged with defending the Utah law in the federal district court filed a seven-page memorandum that Judge Clark Waddoups described as lacking in substance. The chapter discusses Waddoups's claim about the perceived “social harm” of Mormon polygamy and asks whether legal prohibitions against adult incest can be justified when partners avoid having children. Finally, it considers the new, “postmodern” form of plural relationship known as polyamory.
Avigail Eisenberg
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199291304
- eISBN:
- 9780191710704
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199291304.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Theory
This chapter examines the first sceptical reservation to the public assessment of identity claims, namely that identity claims are incommensurable. The problem of incommensurability rests on the idea ...
More
This chapter examines the first sceptical reservation to the public assessment of identity claims, namely that identity claims are incommensurable. The problem of incommensurability rests on the idea that no coherent basis exists upon which to evaluate conflicting views about how identity matters and how it is to be weighed against other putatively fundamental considerations at play in any given conflict. This challenge is explored in relation to conflicts that arise between claims to sexual equality and minority claims to cultural accommodation or autonomy. Two approaches, one of which is rights‐based and the other which focuses on resolving conflicts through democratic processes, often lead to inadequate resolutions. The identity approach is shown to provide a more helpful approach that does not founder on the problem of incommensurability. The chapter compares the three approaches in relation to conflicts about sexist membership rules in Indigenous communities, and in relation to polygamy.Less
This chapter examines the first sceptical reservation to the public assessment of identity claims, namely that identity claims are incommensurable. The problem of incommensurability rests on the idea that no coherent basis exists upon which to evaluate conflicting views about how identity matters and how it is to be weighed against other putatively fundamental considerations at play in any given conflict. This challenge is explored in relation to conflicts that arise between claims to sexual equality and minority claims to cultural accommodation or autonomy. Two approaches, one of which is rights‐based and the other which focuses on resolving conflicts through democratic processes, often lead to inadequate resolutions. The identity approach is shown to provide a more helpful approach that does not founder on the problem of incommensurability. The chapter compares the three approaches in relation to conflicts about sexist membership rules in Indigenous communities, and in relation to polygamy.
Gordon Campbell, Thomas N. Corns, John K. Hale, and Fiona J. Tweedie
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199296491
- eISBN:
- 9780191711923
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296491.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, Milton Studies
This chapter sets Milton's systematic theology in the context of the pertinent Protestant tradition in the early modern period. It appraises the stability of Milton's views, considers his doctrine of ...
More
This chapter sets Milton's systematic theology in the context of the pertinent Protestant tradition in the early modern period. It appraises the stability of Milton's views, considers his doctrine of the godhead, his Christology, his pneumatology, his views on creation, and his soteriology. It concludes with an account of his arguments about mortalism and polygamy.Less
This chapter sets Milton's systematic theology in the context of the pertinent Protestant tradition in the early modern period. It appraises the stability of Milton's views, considers his doctrine of the godhead, his Christology, his pneumatology, his views on creation, and his soteriology. It concludes with an account of his arguments about mortalism and polygamy.
Terryl L. Givens
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195138184
- eISBN:
- 9780199834211
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019513818X.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Many facets of Mormon history have shaped the Church's history and identity. Unlike polygamy or pioneer migrations, the Book of Mormon will always be a constant in the faith group, and thus is a ...
More
Many facets of Mormon history have shaped the Church's history and identity. Unlike polygamy or pioneer migrations, the Book of Mormon will always be a constant in the faith group, and thus is a prime factor in defining Mormon culture, ethnicity, or religiosity. Assent to Smith's story of its origins is the foundation of faith in the religion itself. Since the Book of Mormon received renewed emphasis under Ezra Taft Benson in the 1980s, the scripture increasingly found a cultural vocabulary that gives cohesion and distinctness to the Mormon people. Heroes, villains, plots, motifs, and objects – from Captain Moroni to Lemuel to the stripling warriors to Rameumpton to the Liahona – provide members with a private language that shapes and defines their collective experience while helping maintain the cultural distinctness that has always been a hallmark of Mormonism.Less
Many facets of Mormon history have shaped the Church's history and identity. Unlike polygamy or pioneer migrations, the Book of Mormon will always be a constant in the faith group, and thus is a prime factor in defining Mormon culture, ethnicity, or religiosity. Assent to Smith's story of its origins is the foundation of faith in the religion itself. Since the Book of Mormon received renewed emphasis under Ezra Taft Benson in the 1980s, the scripture increasingly found a cultural vocabulary that gives cohesion and distinctness to the Mormon people. Heroes, villains, plots, motifs, and objects – from Captain Moroni to Lemuel to the stripling warriors to Rameumpton to the Liahona – provide members with a private language that shapes and defines their collective experience while helping maintain the cultural distinctness that has always been a hallmark of Mormonism.
Elizabeth Brake
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199774142
- eISBN:
- 9780199933228
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199774142.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy
Chapter 8 takes up the problem of implementing the marriage law of ideal theory in a non-ideal world. It addresses concerns that minimal marriage would worsen the lot of the vulnerable, especially ...
More
Chapter 8 takes up the problem of implementing the marriage law of ideal theory in a non-ideal world. It addresses concerns that minimal marriage would worsen the lot of the vulnerable, especially women, by eliminating anti-poverty marriage promotion, mandatory alimony and property division protecting the economically dependent, and permitting gender-structured polygyny. Liberals could consistently support transitional provisions for benefits and property division, but liberalism can, and should, also address such problems through legal vehicles other than marriage, especially through education and default rules of financial fairness. Political liberalism holds a number of insufficiently recognized tools for feminists, including rectification, neutrality, and the status it assigns to goods of care and self-respect.Less
Chapter 8 takes up the problem of implementing the marriage law of ideal theory in a non-ideal world. It addresses concerns that minimal marriage would worsen the lot of the vulnerable, especially women, by eliminating anti-poverty marriage promotion, mandatory alimony and property division protecting the economically dependent, and permitting gender-structured polygyny. Liberals could consistently support transitional provisions for benefits and property division, but liberalism can, and should, also address such problems through legal vehicles other than marriage, especially through education and default rules of financial fairness. Political liberalism holds a number of insufficiently recognized tools for feminists, including rectification, neutrality, and the status it assigns to goods of care and self-respect.
Leslie Tuttle
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195381603
- eISBN:
- 9780199870295
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195381603.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History, Political History
Human fertility was a political issue in modern France long before eighteenth‐century writers raised concerns about depopulation. This chapters surveys seventeenth‐century thinking about the ...
More
Human fertility was a political issue in modern France long before eighteenth‐century writers raised concerns about depopulation. This chapters surveys seventeenth‐century thinking about the connection between human reproduction and state power. Perhaps the most ancient connection came from the dynastic anxieties that plagued the early modern French monarchy. In response, propaganda from the early reign of Louis XIV advertised the young king's virility as the basis for a more stable and powerful France. Secondly, early modern political writing emphasized the benefits that accrued to densely populated states, and provided guidance for princes who hoped to assure the divine blessing of a large population: police sexual morality. Finally, writers in the skeptical tradition observed that fertility varied depending on cultural and legal customs. As Tridentine Catholicism more strictly regulated marital and sexual behavior, they daringly pondered how adapting some pagan marital norms might promote more births. Louis XIV's advisors hoping to promote abundant “peopling” would draw upon these different ways of thinking about the connection between politics and reproduction.Less
Human fertility was a political issue in modern France long before eighteenth‐century writers raised concerns about depopulation. This chapters surveys seventeenth‐century thinking about the connection between human reproduction and state power. Perhaps the most ancient connection came from the dynastic anxieties that plagued the early modern French monarchy. In response, propaganda from the early reign of Louis XIV advertised the young king's virility as the basis for a more stable and powerful France. Secondly, early modern political writing emphasized the benefits that accrued to densely populated states, and provided guidance for princes who hoped to assure the divine blessing of a large population: police sexual morality. Finally, writers in the skeptical tradition observed that fertility varied depending on cultural and legal customs. As Tridentine Catholicism more strictly regulated marital and sexual behavior, they daringly pondered how adapting some pagan marital norms might promote more births. Louis XIV's advisors hoping to promote abundant “peopling” would draw upon these different ways of thinking about the connection between politics and reproduction.
Davide Rodogno
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151335
- eISBN:
- 9781400840014
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151335.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter examines the legal doctrines of humanitarian intervention that were developed in the second half of the nineteenth century. Drawing on nineteenth-century British and French writings, ...
More
This chapter examines the legal doctrines of humanitarian intervention that were developed in the second half of the nineteenth century. Drawing on nineteenth-century British and French writings, articles, memoirs, journals, pamphlets, and reviews, it shows that the image of the Ottoman Empire and that of its Christian subjects were far from being monolithic. The chapter first considers the reasons why the Ottoman Empire was generally excluded from the Family of Nations, including despotism, Islam, polygamy, slavery, corruption and the absence of a sound social structure, inability to reciprocate in legal dealings, and unwillingness or incapacity to institute reforms that would guarantee security of life and property to Ottoman Christians. It then discusses the main criterion articulated by various legal scholars for the Ottoman Empire's inclusion in the Family of Nations before concluding with an analysis of late-nineteenth-century doctrines of humanitarian intervention.Less
This chapter examines the legal doctrines of humanitarian intervention that were developed in the second half of the nineteenth century. Drawing on nineteenth-century British and French writings, articles, memoirs, journals, pamphlets, and reviews, it shows that the image of the Ottoman Empire and that of its Christian subjects were far from being monolithic. The chapter first considers the reasons why the Ottoman Empire was generally excluded from the Family of Nations, including despotism, Islam, polygamy, slavery, corruption and the absence of a sound social structure, inability to reciprocate in legal dealings, and unwillingness or incapacity to institute reforms that would guarantee security of life and property to Ottoman Christians. It then discusses the main criterion articulated by various legal scholars for the Ottoman Empire's inclusion in the Family of Nations before concluding with an analysis of late-nineteenth-century doctrines of humanitarian intervention.
D. L. d'Avray
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198208211
- eISBN:
- 9780191716690
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208211.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
An apparently unique feature of the later medieval Church's marriage system in a world-historical comparative perspective is that it permitted neither divorce nor polygamy. This system was rooted in ...
More
An apparently unique feature of the later medieval Church's marriage system in a world-historical comparative perspective is that it permitted neither divorce nor polygamy. This system was rooted in marriage symbolism, and especially in ideas synthesized out of biblical elements by Augustine of Hippo, whose thought on the matter was a time-bomb which did not go off until the central medieval period. The key idea was that the union of man and woman should be not less inseparable than the union of Christ and the Church. While the idea was accepted by churchmen in theory, it was largely ignored in practice in the early medieval period. From the Carolingian period on it began to have an impact on lay society, but powerful laymen could still easily get out of a marriage. The Gregorian Reform started a wind of change. Previously, it had been common even for senior churchmen to have wives or partners, but when celibacy began to become a reality in the higher echelons of Church government, sympathy for the ‘needs’ of patriarchal males could no longer be assumed or expected. It was however Innocent III who really turned indissolubility into a social reality, by an intransigent attitude and changes in Canon Law that closed the loopholes that had allowed easy annulments.Less
An apparently unique feature of the later medieval Church's marriage system in a world-historical comparative perspective is that it permitted neither divorce nor polygamy. This system was rooted in marriage symbolism, and especially in ideas synthesized out of biblical elements by Augustine of Hippo, whose thought on the matter was a time-bomb which did not go off until the central medieval period. The key idea was that the union of man and woman should be not less inseparable than the union of Christ and the Church. While the idea was accepted by churchmen in theory, it was largely ignored in practice in the early medieval period. From the Carolingian period on it began to have an impact on lay society, but powerful laymen could still easily get out of a marriage. The Gregorian Reform started a wind of change. Previously, it had been common even for senior churchmen to have wives or partners, but when celibacy began to become a reality in the higher echelons of Church government, sympathy for the ‘needs’ of patriarchal males could no longer be assumed or expected. It was however Innocent III who really turned indissolubility into a social reality, by an intransigent attitude and changes in Canon Law that closed the loopholes that had allowed easy annulments.
Karel Kurst-Swanger and Jacqueline L. Petcosky
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195165180
- eISBN:
- 9780199864966
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195165180.003.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Children and Families, Crime and Justice
This chapter introduces the reader to the complex phenomenon of family violence. It explores the conceptual framework from which the subject matter is approached and working definitions of family and ...
More
This chapter introduces the reader to the complex phenomenon of family violence. It explores the conceptual framework from which the subject matter is approached and working definitions of family and family maltreatment are provided. It provides a rationale for the addition of pseudo families to the discourse on family violence. It discusses the reasons why family violence is a critical issue to study and outlines the multidisciplinary perspectives which guide researchers and intervention strategies. Common themes identified in abusive families are introduced as well as some of the cultural factors which encourage and reinforce abusive behaviors, such as violent social models, social conditions, cultural and ethnic heritage, and religious traditions.Less
This chapter introduces the reader to the complex phenomenon of family violence. It explores the conceptual framework from which the subject matter is approached and working definitions of family and family maltreatment are provided. It provides a rationale for the addition of pseudo families to the discourse on family violence. It discusses the reasons why family violence is a critical issue to study and outlines the multidisciplinary perspectives which guide researchers and intervention strategies. Common themes identified in abusive families are introduced as well as some of the cultural factors which encourage and reinforce abusive behaviors, such as violent social models, social conditions, cultural and ethnic heritage, and religious traditions.
Reid Neilson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195384031
- eISBN:
- 9780199918324
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195384031.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
The 1893 Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, presented the Latter‐day Saints with their first post‐polygamy opportunity to exhibit the best of Mormonism for a national and ...
More
The 1893 Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, presented the Latter‐day Saints with their first post‐polygamy opportunity to exhibit the best of Mormonism for a national and an international audience. The Columbian Exposition also marked the dramatic reengagement of the LDS Church with the non‐Mormon world after decades of seclusion in the Great Basin. Between May and October 1893, over seven thousand Latter‐day Saints from Utah attended the international spectacle popularly described as the “White City.” While many traveled as tourists, oblivious to the opportunities to “exhibit” Mormonism, others actively participated to improve their church’s public image. Hundreds of congregants helped create, manage, and staff their territory’s impressive exhibit hall; most believed their besieged religion would benefit from Utah’s increased national profile. Moreover, a good number of Latter‐day Saint women represented the female interests and achievements of both Utah and its dominant religion. These women hoped to use the Chicago World’s Fair as a platform to improve the social status of their gender and their religion. That summer two hundred and fifty of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s best singers competed in a Welsh eisteddfod, a musical competition held in conjunction with the Chicago World’s Fair, and Mormon apologist Brigham H. Roberts sought to gain LDS representation at the affiliated Parliament of Religions. My book explores how Latter‐day Saints attempted to “exhibit” themselves to the outside world before, during, and after the Columbian Exposition. Indeed, I argue that their participation in the 1893 Columbian Exposition was a watershed moment in the Mormon migration to the American mainstream and its leadership’s discovery of public relations efforts. The exposition marked the dramatic reengagement of the LDS Church with the outside, non-Mormon world after decades of isolation in America’s Great Basin desert. After 1893, Mormon leaders sought to exhibit their faith rather than be exhibited by others.Less
The 1893 Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, presented the Latter‐day Saints with their first post‐polygamy opportunity to exhibit the best of Mormonism for a national and an international audience. The Columbian Exposition also marked the dramatic reengagement of the LDS Church with the non‐Mormon world after decades of seclusion in the Great Basin. Between May and October 1893, over seven thousand Latter‐day Saints from Utah attended the international spectacle popularly described as the “White City.” While many traveled as tourists, oblivious to the opportunities to “exhibit” Mormonism, others actively participated to improve their church’s public image. Hundreds of congregants helped create, manage, and staff their territory’s impressive exhibit hall; most believed their besieged religion would benefit from Utah’s increased national profile. Moreover, a good number of Latter‐day Saint women represented the female interests and achievements of both Utah and its dominant religion. These women hoped to use the Chicago World’s Fair as a platform to improve the social status of their gender and their religion. That summer two hundred and fifty of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s best singers competed in a Welsh eisteddfod, a musical competition held in conjunction with the Chicago World’s Fair, and Mormon apologist Brigham H. Roberts sought to gain LDS representation at the affiliated Parliament of Religions. My book explores how Latter‐day Saints attempted to “exhibit” themselves to the outside world before, during, and after the Columbian Exposition. Indeed, I argue that their participation in the 1893 Columbian Exposition was a watershed moment in the Mormon migration to the American mainstream and its leadership’s discovery of public relations efforts. The exposition marked the dramatic reengagement of the LDS Church with the outside, non-Mormon world after decades of isolation in America’s Great Basin desert. After 1893, Mormon leaders sought to exhibit their faith rather than be exhibited by others.
Peter Coviello
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780226474168
- eISBN:
- 9780226474472
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226474472.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
For many of their contemporaries, the nineteenth-century Mormons were the victims of a peculiar kind of zealotry: theirs was the story of a population deranged--socially, sexually, even racially--by ...
More
For many of their contemporaries, the nineteenth-century Mormons were the victims of a peculiar kind of zealotry: theirs was the story of a population deranged--socially, sexually, even racially--by the extravagances of belief they chose to name “religion.” This book offers a counterhistory of early Mormonism, tracking the Latter-day Saints from the period of their emergence as a dissident sect, fired by a heterodox and scandalizing carnal imagination, through to their renunciation of polygamy at century’s end. Over these unruly decades, the Mormons would appear by turns as heretics, sex-radicals, “Mohammedan” tyrants, refugees, colonizers, and, eventually, as reluctant monogamists, enfranchised at last into the secular nation and its empire of white settlers. Reading Mormonism across these registers, the book fashions a synthesizing critical idiom that uses religious history, Native Studies, political theology, and queer critique to tell a new story about secularism as a regulatory, disciplinary, and racializing metaphysics: about, that is, the biopolitics of secularism. It argues that, in the eyes of their countrymen, the Mormons were a people who persistently failed at being secular--whose beliefs were understood to have depraved them, and whose marriage-defiling depravity made them dubious white people--and were disciplined, at high and violent cost, into becoming so. It offers a story of orthodoxy, citizenship, and the fate of the flesh in a secularizing nineteenth-century America.Less
For many of their contemporaries, the nineteenth-century Mormons were the victims of a peculiar kind of zealotry: theirs was the story of a population deranged--socially, sexually, even racially--by the extravagances of belief they chose to name “religion.” This book offers a counterhistory of early Mormonism, tracking the Latter-day Saints from the period of their emergence as a dissident sect, fired by a heterodox and scandalizing carnal imagination, through to their renunciation of polygamy at century’s end. Over these unruly decades, the Mormons would appear by turns as heretics, sex-radicals, “Mohammedan” tyrants, refugees, colonizers, and, eventually, as reluctant monogamists, enfranchised at last into the secular nation and its empire of white settlers. Reading Mormonism across these registers, the book fashions a synthesizing critical idiom that uses religious history, Native Studies, political theology, and queer critique to tell a new story about secularism as a regulatory, disciplinary, and racializing metaphysics: about, that is, the biopolitics of secularism. It argues that, in the eyes of their countrymen, the Mormons were a people who persistently failed at being secular--whose beliefs were understood to have depraved them, and whose marriage-defiling depravity made them dubious white people--and were disciplined, at high and violent cost, into becoming so. It offers a story of orthodoxy, citizenship, and the fate of the flesh in a secularizing nineteenth-century America.
Reid L. Neilson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195384031
- eISBN:
- 9780199918324
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195384031.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
One could argue that LDS leaders and laity did not engage in orchestrated public relations efforts during most of the nineteenth century. But this does not mean that Mormons were unconcerned with ...
More
One could argue that LDS leaders and laity did not engage in orchestrated public relations efforts during most of the nineteenth century. But this does not mean that Mormons were unconcerned with their public image or ignorant about the way outsiders viewed them. There is little question that antebellum Mormons were careful about what they wrote in tracts, how they evangelized both domestically and internationally, and how they sought to remain in deliberate tension with their fellow Americans. Rather than trying to join hands with other Christians, Latter-day Saints sought to emphasize the “Restoration,” or return of Christ's primitive church to Joseph Smith, and thereby highlight what they believed was the deficient character of other forms of Christianity. Hardly a public relations strategy, this nevertheless proved quite an effective evangelization approach, as chronicled in this chapter. Prior to the 1893 World's Fair, Mormons emphasized their polarizing spiritual beliefs and practices rather than showcasing their cultural contributions to their fellow Americans.Less
One could argue that LDS leaders and laity did not engage in orchestrated public relations efforts during most of the nineteenth century. But this does not mean that Mormons were unconcerned with their public image or ignorant about the way outsiders viewed them. There is little question that antebellum Mormons were careful about what they wrote in tracts, how they evangelized both domestically and internationally, and how they sought to remain in deliberate tension with their fellow Americans. Rather than trying to join hands with other Christians, Latter-day Saints sought to emphasize the “Restoration,” or return of Christ's primitive church to Joseph Smith, and thereby highlight what they believed was the deficient character of other forms of Christianity. Hardly a public relations strategy, this nevertheless proved quite an effective evangelization approach, as chronicled in this chapter. Prior to the 1893 World's Fair, Mormons emphasized their polarizing spiritual beliefs and practices rather than showcasing their cultural contributions to their fellow Americans.
