When did polygamy become illegal in Utah?
Emily Wilson
Updated on April 19, 2026
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Considering this, when was polygamy outlawed in Utah?
In 1852, Young felt the LDS Church in Utah was secure enough to publicly announce their practice of polygamy. However opposition from the U.S. government threatened the legal standing of the LDS Church. President Wilford Woodruff announced the LDS Church's official abandonment of the practice on September 25, 1890.
Similarly, is polygamy legal in any of the 50 states? Polygamy is illegal in all 50 states. Utah is the headquarters state of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, which abandoned polygamy in 1890 as Utah was seeking statehood.
Also, what year was polygamy outlawed in the US?
Legality of polygamy in the United States. Polygamy is illegal in the United States. Federal legislation to outlaw the practice was endorsed as constitutional in 1878, despite the religious objections of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), by the Supreme Court, in Reynolds v. United States.
Why is polygamy illegal in the United States?
A federal judge ruled late Friday that a key section of Utah law criminalizing polygamy is unconstitutional, granting multi-spouse families the right to live together without facing arrest, so long as they do not acquire multiple marriage licenses.
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