A positive look at Mormon polygamists

"Fundamentalisms and Society", edited by Martin E. Marty, is part of a multi-volume series on various forms of religious fundamentalism.

I haven't read the entire series. In fact, I haven't even read all articles in this volume. I'm reviewing it because of one particular text, which I found very interesting: "Plural marriage and Mormon fundamentalism", written by D. Michael Quinn. It's a relatively short but very informative piece on Mormon polygamists in Utah and Arizona. Quinn is otherwise mostly known for his notorious book "Early Mormonism and the magic worldview", a work that actually got him expelled from the Mormon (LDS) Church. Despite this, Quinn still considers himself to be a "DNA Mormon", and he has a surprisingly positive attitude to the Mormon polygamist groups he describes.

The Mormons practiced polygamy for generations, until the United States federal government finally forced the LDS Church to abandon the practice in 1890. Despite this, small groups of Mormons have continued the practice. These groups are known as Mormon fundamentalists. Since the LDS Church excommunicates people who practice or preach polygamy, most fundamentalists belong to breakaway groups.

According to Quinn, there are several misconceptions about Mormon fundamentalists: that there are many of them, that they have a penchant for cultish violence and murder, that they dress in old fashioned clothes, and that all of them practice polygamy. In reality, Quinn argues, there are only about 21,000 fundamentalists spread out over the United States, Mexico and Canada, and this number includes children. Also, many fundamentalist groups are loosing members. Ironically, more men than women defect. While all Mormon fundamentalists by definition preach polygamy (or rather polygyny), few actually practice it. The notorious exception to the rule is the Fundamentalist Church at Colorado City in Arizona, where most married men and women are involved in polygamous relationships. In other fundamentalist groups, only a minority of the membership practice polygamy, perhaps because of societal disapproval. While the Fundamentalist Church lives in a small, isolated town dominated by their own members, other fundamentalists live in urban or suburban areas, some even in Salt Lake City. As for their dress, there are still extreme members of the Colorado City community who insist on clothing their children in home-made trousers and pants, but this is increasingly seen as an embarrassment even there, although Colorado City inhabitants as a general rule do have a more "fifties look" than urban or suburban fundamentalists, whose teenagers may look indistinguishable from the majority.

Quinn further writes that the association between terrorism and Mormon fundamentalism is unfortunate, since the only murderous group within the fundamentalist community is the small cult around Ervil LeBaron. However, their deadly attacks on other fundamentalists gave the movement as a whole the reputation for religious terror. In reality, Quinn believes, the killing spree of Ervil LeBaron's cult might actually have helped the other fundamentalists, who worked closely with federal law enforcement. Some peaceful fundamentalists even got a certain amount of support from federal agencies against local authorities in Utah.

"Plural marriage and Mormon fundamentalism" describes all the main groups on the fundamentalist scene: the Fundamentalist Church (the group virtually controlling Colorado City), the Apostolic United Brethren, the Church of the Firstborn, and the mysterious Davis County Cooperative (a successful business venture appended to a secretive polygamist group). There are also "independent fundamentalists", who seem to be very different from the others. Thus, one independent group consist of many people who aren't even Mormons, and some who are gay!

The article also describes who converts to fundamentalism, why, patterns of dating and courtship, family dynamics, and the future of Mormonism. Quinn hopes that the LDS Church will one day permit polygamy, at least in Third World nations where polygamy is legal. A vain hope, if you ask me!

If there is any problem with the article, it's the positive tack taken by the writer. Remember, this man seems to *like* Mormon polygamists. But then, it's quite common that articles on extreme religious groups are written by scholars who somehow sympathize with them. With this caveat in mind, "Plural marriage and Mormon fundamentalism" is an indispensable starting point for those interested in modern Mormon polygamy.

I'm sure the rest of "Fundamentalisms and Society" is equally interesting, but I haven't bothered reading it. The five stars are for D. Michael Quinn's article.