<Brothel>

God's Brothel describes the abuses inherent in the main type of polygamy practiced in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico: Mormon and Christian fundamentalist polygamy, which are based on scriptural tenets that are in conflict with the rights of women and children in the modern world.

In writing God's Brothel, Andrea Moore-Emmett interviewed and documented the stories of 18 women who escaped modern-day polygamy. The stories are heart-wrenching and often horrifying, as the women speak of the abuse (physical, sexual, and emotional) that they endured; the family members girls and women in their groups were forced to marry or have sex with; and the fear of eternal damnation that made it difficult for them to leave their polygamous groups.

Moore-Emmett debunks the idea that polygamy, at least in the manner in which it is practiced by the majority of the polygamists in North America, is a private lifestyle choice made by consenting adults. She also debunks the idea that religious freedom should protect practices that include incest, forced underage marriage, denial of education and welfare fraud.

Moore-Emmett also discusses why polygamy is very different from gay marriage and why polygamists should not be allowed to ride on the coattails of the gay rights movement. A former Mormon, Moore-Emmett takes the Mormon Church to task for claiming that it has nothing to do with polygamy while still glorifying polygamist ancestors and promising that current widowers who remarry will have plural wives in heaven.

Author Andrea Moore-Emmett is an award-winning journalist and researcher whose stories on polygamy first appeared in Salt Lake City Weekly. She was researcher for Inside Polygamy, a two-hour documentary aired on A&E and the BBC. Moore-Emmett lived in Salt Lake City, Utah, for 30 years and has recently relocated to Southern California. She travels throughout the country speaking about polygamy.