It did? Gee, I had no idea that the US Supreme Court was authorized to rule on matters of Christian dogma. We at FR would object strenuously if it tried to. Moreover, SCOTUS doesn't make things legal or illegal, it rules on the constitutionality of laws made by the legislative bodies (e.g. Congress). Again, we here at FR are -against- courts legislating from the bench, right?
Instead, I thought that to become a state, Utah had to officially ban polygamy in its state constitution:
...During the 1870s and 1880s, laws were passed to punish polygamists, and in the 1890 Manifesto, the LDS Church banned polygamy. When Utah applied for statehood again, it was accepted. One of the conditions for granting Utah statehood was that a ban on polygamy be written into the state constitution. This was a condition required of other western states that were admitted into the Union later. Statehood was officially granted on January 4, 1896... [from the Wikipedia page on Utah]Indeed, the SCOTUS ruling on polygamy specifically said it was NOT about religious belief, but only the practice:
... 1879 unanimous Supreme Court Reynolds v. United States decision declared that polygamy was not protected by the Constitution, based on the longstanding legal principle that "laws are made for the government of actions, and while they cannot interfere with mere religious belief and opinions, they may with practices..." [Wikipedia page on polygamy]It says nothing about SCOTUS deeming polygamy un-Christian.
So, can you provide a link, please, to an official source (e.g. a SCOTUS ruling) that describes how and when "the U.S. Supreme Court deemed polygamy UNCHRISTIAN and made it against the law"? Thanks.
Check the U.S. Supreme Court decision on this. Clearly you don’t know what you are talking about.
It was CLEARLY aimed at Mormons openly practicing pologomy. Chritsians didn’t want pologomy in the U.S.. That is WHY pologomy is against the law, however Mormaons in Utah, wink at that and pologomy is still practiced by many Mormons.
It was CLEARLY aimed at Mormons openly practicing polygamy. Christians didn’t want polygamy in the U.S.. That is WHY polygamy is against the law, however Mormons in Utah, wink at that and polygamy is still practiced by many Mormons.
I'm only asking about your statement about the U.S. Supreme Court.
Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 (1878), was a Supreme Court of the United States case that held that religious duty was not a suitable defense to a criminal indictment.
In a nutshell, Reynolds, a polygamist and personal secretary to Brigham Young, argued that as a Mormon, it was his religious duty as a male member of the church to practice polygamy.
A unanimous court rejected this defense, instead holding that Congress has a right to enact a law for the general benefit of society (such as prohibiting "plural marriage") providing it is applied to all persons equally without regard to religious affiliation.
It is my understanding the Reynolds case has not been overturned; is frequently cited when someone tries to use religion as a defense for violating statutes (e.g. taking drugs, torturing animals, abusing children, etc.); and is one of the cases the ACLU most wants to see overturned.
You can read the opinion of the court here.