A Pastoral Response to Polygamous Marriage in Africa
The SECAM Commission's Report "The Pastoral Challenge of Polygamy"
This past March, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), a confederation of the national and regional episcopal conferences of the African continent, published a report offering a theological and pastoral response to the significant number of African Christians living in polygamous marriages. The report, The Pastoral Challenge of Polygamy, was written by a commission of twelve experts, including theologians, biblical scholars, canon lawyers, and anthropologists. It proposes a pastoral response to the reality of polygamous marriage that affirms the Catholic Church’s teaching on marriage while applying that teaching in a pastorally sensitive way that takes into consideration the distinct African context.
This specific initiative arose in part in response to the global Synod on Synodality. At the first session of the Synod in 2023, in the synthesis document produced at the end of the meeting, the delegates encouraged SECAM to “promote a theological and pastoral discernment on the question of polygamy and the accompaniment of people in polygamous unions who are coming to faith.” The pastoral challenge of polygamy had already been identified by African synodal participants and discussed in the African continental document written earlier in 2023, however.
An earlier draft of the SECAM commission’s report was presented to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) for input, and then a revised draft was submitted to the SECAM Plenary Assembly, which gathered in Kigali, Rwanda in August 2025, for further discussion and feedback. Significantly, The Pastoral Challenge of Polygamy was being drafted around the same time as the DDF’s recent doctrinal note on monogamy, Una Caro, and the two documents certainly raise common themes. On the other hand, as Charles Collins of Crux argued when Una Caro was published, the DDF’s document is written largely from a Western context. As I noted at the time, this may simply reflect the DDF’s desire not to preempt SECAM’s efforts. But, as Leonida Katunge has pointed out, even when the African context is briefly mentioned in a footnote, Una Caro seriously misrepresents the prevalence of polygamy in Africa.
The Pastoral Challenge of Polygamy explains that this is the first time the Catholic Church in Africa has addressed polygamy in detail at the continental level (pp. 14-16). Pope Paul VI’s call for an authentically African expression of the faith on his 1969 visit to Uganda suggested the need for the African Church to respond to distinctive challenges faced on the continent, but the pastoral response to polygamy has largely been left to local bishops. A 1981 report from the SECAM Plenary Assembly insisted that any pastoral response to polygamous marriage should not appear to legitimize polygamy, but the document did not offer any guidelines on what the appropriate pastoral response should be. Neither Pope John Paul II’s Ecclesia in Africa (1995) nor Pope Benedict XVI’s Africae Munus (2011), both written to summarize insights from the bishops gathered at the African Synods of Bishops held in 1994 and 2009, respectively, mentioned polygamous marriages at all. SECAM only began giving serious attention to the issue in the preparations for the 2014 Extraordinary Synod of Bishops focused on the theme of the family.
That new focus bore fruit: in Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’s exhortation written in response to the 2014 Synod and the subsequent 2015 Ordinary Synod of Bishops, polygamous marriage is discussed as one of several “irregular situations” experienced by many Catholics—alongside divorce and remarriage, cohabitation, and same-sex relationships—that do not fully conform to the Church’s ideal of marriage as an indissoluble union of one man and one woman. With the new commission report, SECAM seeks to move beyond this categorization and look at the distinctive characteristics of polygamous marriage in Africa. At the same time, one of the document’s purposes is to apply the pastoral approach outlined in Amoris Laetitia:
[T]he best way to respond to the challenges of polygamy is a pastoral approach of proximity, listening and accompaniment. A pastoral approach that opens up to others, without judging them, by announcing the truth contained in the Gospel, which is life for every believer (cf. Jn. 14:6) and which is celebrated in the sacraments and the witness of life. (20)
The SECAM report also attempts to respond to the need for the authentic inculturation of the Gospel in the African context. As the Nigerian theologian Paulinus Odozor, C.S.Sp. writes in his book Morality Truly Christian, Truly African, those engaged in theological inculturation “must have a deep knowledge of the culture in which he or she is working—that is, a deep appreciation for its strengths and honesty about its weaknesses.” The Church should be willing to challenge cultural practices that are incompatible with the Gospel while also being open to new insights that arise from engagement with cultures.
The Pastoral Challenge of Polygamy begins with an overview of the practice of polygamy in Africa. Polygamy—and especially polygyny, the marriage of one man to multiple women—has ancient historical roots in Africa, just as it does in the Middle East. The report lists some of the reasons for the historical prevalence of polygyny in Africa, some of which remain relevant today (3-4):
As in most societies around the world, children were valued as a source of household labor. Polygyny made it easier for a man to have a large number of children.
Similarly, polygyny was seen as a solution to infertility. If a husband’s first wife was infertile, then it was imperative that he marry a second wife who was fertile. (Interestingly, evidence suggests that declining child mortality in recent decades is correlated with declining rates of polygamy in Africa.)
In patrilineal societies where lineage and inheritance are passed on through males, if a first wife only has girls, then the husband would marry a second wife in the hopes of having a son.
Some African societies have practiced levirate marriage in which a man inherits his brother’s wife and children if that brother dies. This would be the case even if the living brother is already married to another woman.
Having multiple wives and large numbers of children was seen as a source of prestige.
A king or chief could cement alliances with different clans or families by marrying multiple wives from those groups, and so polygamy helped facilitate social and political peace.
Today, polygamous marriage is only prevalent in certain parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The so-called “polygamy belt” runs from West Africa through Central Africa to the Eastern African nations of Tanzania and Kenya. That being said, the rate of polygamous marriage has been gradually declining since the 1970s. For example, the percentage of married women in polygamous marriages has declined from 38.3% in 1991 to 21.9% in 2018 in Cameroon, from 27.6% in 1993 to 15.6% in 2014 in Ghana, from 40.9% in 1990 to 30.5% in 2018 in Nigeria, and from 27.1% in 1992 to 18.0% in 2016 in Tanzania.
Even so, as The Pastoral Challenge of Polygamy points out, these are still substantial numbers, and polygamy has persisted despite economic modernization, urbanization, and women’s increasing access to education and participation in the workplace. As the report suggests, there are many educated women who willingly enter polygamous marriages while pursuing careers. At the same time, data suggests that there are higher rates of polygamy in rural areas and in areas where women have less access to education. Data also suggests that the majority of polygamous marriages involve two wives, and hardly any involve more than three wives.
The legal recognition of polygamy varies from country to country. In some countries, including many of those with Muslim majorities, polygamy is legal. In other countries, a husband can only marry a second wife with the consent of his first wife—in other words, both spouses must consent to a polygamous marriage. And in other countries, polygamy is legally prohibited, although it continues to be practiced clandestinely.
Polygamy is practiced by Christians, Muslims, and adherents of African traditional religions. Even so, it is more prevalent among Muslims and practitioners of African traditional religions, but in countries where the majority of the population is Christian, that may still mean that the majority of those in polygamous marriages are Christian. As the SECAM commission’s report makes clear, an acute pastoral problem arises when practitioners of African traditional religions—or, to a lesser extent, of Islam—who are already in polygamous marriages convert to Christianity and desire to be baptized. Should the Church require the husband to sever the bond with all but one of his wives and their children before he can be baptized?
Before addressing this and other pastoral challenges, the report reflects on what the Scriptures have to say about marriage, and particularly polygamy and monogamy. This section of the report has close parallels to a similar section of the DDF’s document Una Caro, which I summarized here. It notes that polygamy was prevalent in the ancient Near East for reasons similar to those found in Africa. The Hebrew Patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—all practiced polygamy, and both Abraham and Jacob had children with servants when their wives were infertile. Notably, the Old Testament narrators do not seem to disapprove of this state of affairs. The kings of Israel continued to practice polygamy: Kings David and Solomon had multiple wives and concubines as a means of establishing political alliances.
At the same time, the Old Testament texts increasingly suggest reservations about polygamy. Of course, the Creation account in Genesis 1 culminates in the “one flesh” union of Adam and Eve. The report likewise points out that in Genesis, it is Lamech, the descendent of Cain, who introduces polygamy into the world, while the descendants of Seth through Noah remain monogamous, suggesting that polygamy represents a fall from an ideal. In the later prophets and the Wisdom literature, monogamy is almost unanimously presented as the norm, and prophets like Hosea and Ezekiel introduce the image of a monogamous marriage between a husband and wife as a symbol of God’s faithful covenant with Israel.
In the New Testament, Jesus teaches his followers that marriage is an indissoluble “one flesh” union of one man and one woman, and Paul teaches similarly (1 Cor. 7:2). The report concludes that through a careful study of the Scriptures, “[I]t emerges that God the Father is a teacher who gradually educates his children,” revealing the ideal of monogamy over polygamy over time (9).
The report then presents two theological arguments in defense of monogamy that again closely parallel Una Caro. It points out that the Scriptures are clear that both man and woman are created in the image of God, and that men and women are equal in dignity and rights. It is difficult to see how the dignity and rights of women are fully respected in polygamous marriages. And, as both Genesis and the Gospels affirm, man and woman become “one flesh” in marriage. The report asks: “How can a man or woman in a situation of polygamy ‘become one flesh’ with several wives or several husbands?” (12). It adds that marriage is the gift of self of one person to another, but this is impossible in the context of polygamous marriage.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the SECAM report is its insistence that the practice of polygamy in part arises from an exaggerated emphasis on the importance of fertility. Although the Catholic Church teaches that the procreation of new life is one of the purposes of marriage, the report makes clear, however, that nuance is needed: “[F]or Christian marriage, biological fertility is not part of the essence of marriage, [but rather] being simply open to the life that can be born from this union” (21). A second marriage is not justified simply because a married couple discovers that they are infertile.
The report also notes that, even though fertility is described as a great blessing in the Old Testament, the prophets and Wisdom literature make clear that God honors those who are infertile for their fidelity (e.g., Is. 56:5: “I will give them, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; an eternal name, which shall not be cut off, will I give them.”), and fidelity and service to the Lord are presented as a kind of “spiritual fertility” (pp. 11-12). Marriages can be “fruitful” in a variety of ways, and “Life is a gift from God and goes beyond the purely biological dimension” (22).
With all of this in mind, the SECAM report proposes a number of guidelines for how the Church in Africa can respond to those in polygamous marriages. It explains that when European missionaries first came to Africa, they failed to adequately distinguish between Christian evangelization and Westernization. They condemned polygamy and required those seeking baptism to abandon it without understanding the reasons for the practice or the social ramifications of abandoning it. For example, the missionaries expected husbands to abandon their wives other than the first and their children, disregarding the economic and social consequences this would have for those women and children. Interestingly, this culturally imperialist approach was one reason for the emergence of what are collectively referred to as African indigenous churches, Christian churches established by Africans that incorporate elements of African traditional religion.
Seeking a more inculturated approach based on accompaniment, The Pastoral Challenge of Polygamy distinguishes two groups that pose distinct challenges. First, some individuals already in polygamous marriages seek to join the Church through baptism. Second, since most African Christians are baptized in childhood, many enter into polygamous marriages after they are already baptized.
The report insists that individuals already in polygamous marriages should not be allowed to be baptized: “[B]aptizing a polygamist who will continue to remain so would give every appearance of legitimizing this irregularity and could distort or even devalue baptism of its substance as the first sacrament of Christian initiation” (18). On the other hand, the idea of identifying individuals in this situation as “permanent catechumens” which has been adopted in some dioceses is undesirable for two reasons. First, as the commission states, “[T]here is a risk of a minimalist interpretation of the sacraments as not being important for living as a Christian” (18). Second, those in polygamous marriages should be “invited to live their faith in a penitent manner and in the hope of full integration into the community of Jesus’ disciples” (21), and so their current state as catechumens should not be viewed as a permanent one, even if it may be very difficult for some to change their family arrangements. In every instance, families should be welcome in the Christian community and accompanied through the challenges they face.
What the report proposes for those who enter into polygamous marriages after they are baptized is more ambiguous. As with those who are seeking baptism, it states that those who are already baptized should be encouraged to become monogamous. During the two Synods focused on the family in 2014 and 2015, debate swirled over the question of whether Catholics who are divorced and remarried should be permitted to receive the Eucharist, and debate on the question continued after the publication of Amoris Laetitia. Perplexingly, The Pastoral Challenge of Polygamy is unclear on the question of whether baptized Catholics in polygamous marriages could, after proper discernment, participate in the Eucharist. The report seems to suggest that they should not. It states that “These various experiences show that pastoral care leads to a deep living of adherence to the God of Jesus Christ the Savior and to participating in a different way in the sacramental life” (23), and adds that “Even without the objective reception of the sacrament, it is hoped that each person, united in common faith, will be helped to achieve true spiritual communion with the One who is celebrated, our Lord Jesus Christ” (24). Still, concrete guidance on the issue is never clearly articulated.
The report is clear that the existence of a polygamous marriage should not be held as a mark against the entire family. For instance, some members of the family should be permitted to be baptized and to participate in the other sacraments. For example, the first wife never entered into a polygamous relationship (except in those countries where the consent of the first wife is required!), and so should be permitted to be baptized if not already and should be welcomed to the other sacraments. Similarly, all children should be allowed to be baptized and receive the sacraments. The husband and other wives should also be encouraged to participate in the liturgy (presumably without receiving the Eucharist) and to be involved in the church community.
Finally, the report insists that the Church’s pastoral approach must involve promoting the dignity of women. This means not just being critical of polygamy but also promoting the educational and career aspirations of women. Likewise, the Church should develop institutions to assist those women in vulnerable situations that traditionally have provided the rationale for polygamy, such as widows, as well as women and children who are affected by the breaking up of polygamous marriages.
The report is by no means perfect. For example, I think more could be said about how the Church in Africa can promote the dignity of women and ensure justice for the women and children in polygamous families. Also, the nuanced approach in this report is in striking contrast to SECAM’s entirely negative response to Fiducia Supplicans, the DDF’s document on blessings for individuals in same-sex relationships. What would the African bishops think of informal blessings for spouses in polygamous marriages? Even so, SECAM’s report The Pastoral Challenge of Polygamy provides a good example to the global Church of a rigorous and pastoral response to a challenging issue that is sensitive to the local social and cultural context.
Coming Soon…
Even though Pope Leo XIV signed his first encyclical (supposedly titled Magnifica Humanitas) on May 15, recent reporting suggests the document will not be published until May 25. I will be honest, I was ready to read through the encyclical and offer my first reflections this weekend, so I was a bit disappointed that it will be another week before it’s published. I made progress on some other projects instead, so all is well. But rest assured, I will have my first response to the encyclical ready as soon as I can, although given the publication date during the work week, it may be the following weekend before I can get to it.
Something else I want to get to is a discussion of Americanism, the heresy condemned by Pope Leo XIII at the end of the nineteenth century. When Pope Leo XIV was elected, I noted the irony that the first pope from the United States took the name of the pope who condemned Americanism. I don’t read too much into that, but I think it is important to understand what Americanism was and was not, especially considering the ongoing friction between the Vatican and US President Donald Trump’s “America First” nationalism. So, look for that soon, as well!
I think the best parallel to the issue of polygamy (at least from the point of view of moral culpability) is those rare cases of accidental bigamy that arise when a spouse is prematurely declared dead and the widow/widower remarries, only for the original spouse to turn up again years later (having spent the interim as a castaway, galley slave, prisoner of war, lunatic, etc). From the point of view of both the government and the surrounding society, the second marriage was perfectly legitimate, and did not violate the rights of the original spouse. So, how do you resolve the issue without suggesting that two wrongs make a right—that is, without appearing to break up a marriage contracted in good faith in the name of preserving the sanctity of another marriage contracted in the same way? It's telling that even Jesus dodges this one (or something close to it) in Mark 12, effectively saying, "Well, marriage serves a contigent purpose that will be fulfilled in the eschaton, so why are you assuming that there will be a neat answer to every question about who is really married to who, and which marriage takes precedence?" It's also significant that the early church appears to have granted that polygamy, while not ideal, would at least be tolerated among the laity, even if the clergy would be held to a higher standard (1 Timothy 3:2).