Nairobi, Kenya – Final report addressing the pastoral challenge of polygamy in Africa, in addition to theological reflection on marriage and the sacraments, whose members Seminar of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), released on March 24, draws attention to a wide range of social, cultural and pastoral realities that shape the practice across the continent.
While affirming the Christian ideal of monogamous marriage, the 25-page report compiled by the SECAM Commission – composed of selected theologians and professionals from relevant ecclesiastical disciplines – emphasizes that understanding the persistence of polygamy requires careful analysis of social change, legal frameworks, gender relations and pastoral strategies within African societies.
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, President of SECAM. | Credit: ACI Africa
This report is a direct response to the multi-year mandate XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops – known as Synod on Synod – Given to Catholic bishops in Africa: “To promote theological and pastoral discernment on the issue of polygamy.”
Polygamy in the changing African social landscape
In the report, SECAM Commission members stated that polygamy cannot be understood solely through the lens of traditional culture. African society has undergone profound changes in recent decades.
“The traditional environment has collapsed, creating an environment in which many long-held institutions and values are being questioned,” he said. This change has also affected the dynamics of marriage and family life.
Sociological studies cited in the report identify infertility as one of the major motivations behind contemporary polygamy, although the report emphasizes that the reasons are complex.
Despite modernization and propagation, it states that the practice of polygamy has not ended. Instead, “it remains alive and well” and, in some contexts, has even gained popularity.
One notable development that SECAM Commission members highlighted in the report is the changing role of women in African societies. She believes that women are increasingly taking on key economic roles, particularly in the informal sector.
Legal frameworks across Africa
In the report, Commission members also highlighted the legal status of polygamy across the continent.
He noted that about 30 African countries have legal frameworks that allow polygamy – either through civil law, customary law or religious law. The list includes countries like Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Morocco and South Africa.
However, the report notes that legal recognition of polygamy does not necessarily indicate widespread societal consent. Women’s movements in many countries have increasingly challenged these laws.
“More and more women are speaking out against the law in favor of polygamy, which they consider unfair and offensive to gender equality,” the report said.
Members of the Conclave of the Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) meet under the theme “Christ, Source of Hope, Reconciliation and Peace” at the 20th Plenary Assembly to be held in Kigali, Rwanda from July 30 to August 4, 2025. | Credit: ACI Africa
The SECAM Commission report states that this tension between cultural tradition, legal frameworks and evolving social values is an important part of the pastoral context in which Catholic bishops in Africa must address the issue of polygamy.
Question of women’s identity
A central theme in the report is the dignity of women in both cultural and religious contexts.
The report states that pastoral responses to polygamy should explicitly seek to “enhance the dignity of women”. The report acknowledges that women sometimes choose polygamous arrangements for practical or cultural reasons – however, it raises theological questions about whether such choices are consistent with God’s plan for human relationships.
According to the report, from a Biblical perspective, polygamy “does not promote the development of women as God intended”. Therefore, pastoral strategies that help Christian communities to critically consider cultural assumptions about gender roles and marriage are important.
Economic insecurity and practice of polygamy
The report also links polygamy to economic insecurity, especially among widows.
An example highlighted by members of the SECAM Commission is the traditional practice of levirate marriage, in which a widow marries a relative of her deceased husband to secure protection and support for herself and her children.
While acknowledging the social protection function of this practice, the report raises questions about whether it can also lead to forms of exploitation and whether such arrangements risk reducing women to objects of exchange within family structures.
For this reason, the members of the Commission highlight the importance of pastoral care directed especially to widows. The report said that ensuring their “physical and moral security” could help prevent situations in which women feel forced to enter into polygamous relationships in order to survive.
Hidden or ‘hidden’ forms of polygamy
Another issue raised in the report is what SECAM Commission members call “hidden polygamy”.
The term refers to situations in which individuals maintain multiple sexual relationships outside formal marriage, resulting in families in which children are born to parents who are not married to each other.
Although such situations do not present the same doctrinal challenges as formal polygamy, commission members say they consider it harmful to both society and the Church.
One difficulty, he points out, is that social stigma often falls disproportionately on women raising children out of wedlock. The absence of a father also creates concerns about the well-being of children.
In response, the report calls for stronger pastoral formation within Christian communities so that the faithful can accompany families facing these realities with maturity and responsibility.
SECAM members in 2025 Credit: ACI Africa
Preparing Couples for Christian Marriage
In the report the Commission members repeatedly emphasize that prevention is as important as pastoral accompaniment.
Many cases of polygamy among baptized Christians arise from cultural expectations regarding fertility. The report notes that in many African contexts, the inability to have children can place a profound strain on a marriage.
Therefore, the report calls for rigorous marriage preparation programs that help couples understand the Christian meaning of marriage. While the desire to have children is recognized as a legitimate cultural value, the report emphasizes that biological fertility is not essential to the sacred reality of marriage.
Members of the SECAM Commission state that Christian marriage should be understood primarily as a covenant of love and fidelity rather than as a means of producing children.
A broader question of sanskritization
Throughout the report, Commission members present the issue of polygamy as part of a broader challenge of inculturation – the process of expressing Christianity within diverse cultural contexts.
They acknowledge that the church’s engagement with African cultures has evolved significantly since the missionary era.
Whereas earlier pastoral approaches often treated polygamy primarily as a moral problem to be eliminated, today the Church must combine fidelity to the gospel with careful listening to cultural realities.
In their concluding reflection, the members of the SECAM Commission called for continued dialogue between Catholic bishops, theologians and pastoral workers in Africa to evaluate existing pastoral models and, where necessary, “propose other paths aimed at offering all possibilities of encounter with Christ and his Gospel.”
Thus, the issue of polygamy is not simply a disciplinary question but part of the broader task of shaping an authentic African expression of Christian family life.
this story was first published Produced by ACI Africa, EWTN News’ sister service in Africa, and adapted by EWTN News.
