Charisma (/kə.ˈrɪz.mə/) is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal.[1]
In the fields ofsociology andpolitical science,psychology, andmanagement, the termcharismatic describes a type ofleadership.[2][3]
InChristian theology, the termcharisma appears as theSpiritual gift (charism) which is an endowment with an extraordinary power given by theHoly Spirit.[4][5]
The English wordcharisma derives from the Ancient Greek wordχάρισμα (chárisma), which denotes a "favor freely given" and the "gift of grace".[2] The singular term and the plural termχαρίσματα (charismata) both derive from the wordχάρις (charis), meaninggrace andcharm.[6][7] In religious praxis, theAncient Greeks ascribedpersonality charisma to theirpantheon of gods and goddesses, e.g. attributing charm, beauty, nature, creativity, and fertility to the individualCharites (Χάριτες). In theology and sociology, the denotations of the wordcharisma expanded from the Ancient Greek definition into the connotations ofdivinely-conferred charisma and ofpersonality charisma, thus inA History of Charisma (2010), John Potts said that:
Contemporary charisma maintains, however, the irreducible character ascribed to it by[Max] Weber: it retains a mysterious, elusive quality. Media commentators regularly describe charisma as theX-factor. . . . The enigmatic character of charisma also suggests a connection — at least to some degree — to the earliest manifestations of charisma as a spiritual gift.[8]: 3
Moreover, theKoine Greek dialect spoken inAncient Rome employed the termscharisma andcharismata without the religious connotations.[9]
TheHebrew Bible and theChristian Bible record the development ofdivinely conferred charisma. In the Hebrew text the idea of charismatic leadership is generally signaled by the use of the nounhen (favor) or the verbhanan (to show favor). The Greek term forcharisma (grace or favor), and its rootcharis (grace) replaced the Hebrew terms in the Greek translation of theHebrew Bible (the 3rd century BCESeptuagint). Throughout, "the paradigmatic image of the charismatic hero is the figure who has received God's favor".[10]: 1545 In other words,divinely conferred charisma[11] applied to highly revered figures.
Thus, Eastern Mediterranean Jews in the 1st century CE had notions ofcharis andcharisma that embraced the range of meanings found in Greek culture and the spiritual meanings from the Hebrew Bible.[8]: 15 From this linguistic legacy of fused cultures, in1 Corinthians,Paul the Apostle introduced the meaning that the Holy Spirit bestowedcharism andcharismata, "the gift of God's grace," upon individuals or groups. For Paul, "[t]here is a clear distinction between charisma andcharis; charisma is the direct result of divinecharis or grace."[8]: 36–37 [10]: 1549
In theNew TestamentEpistles, Paul refers tocharisma or its pluralcharismata seven times in1 Corinthians, written inKoine (or common) Greek around 54 CE. He elaborates on his concepts with six references in Romans (c. 56). He makes three individual references in2 Corinthians 56,1 Timothy, and2 Timothy 62–67. The seventeenth and only other mention ofcharisma is in1 Peter.[8]: 23, 37, 43, 45 [2][9][12]
Thegospels, written in the late first century, applydivinely conferred charisma to revered figures. Examples are accounts ofJesus'baptism and of histransfiguration, in which disciples see him as radiant with light, appearing together with Moses and Elijah. Another example isGabriel's greeting toMary as "full of grace".[10] In these and other instancesearly Christians designated certain individuals as possessing "spiritual gifts", and these gifts included "the ability to penetrate the neighbour to the bottom of his heart and spirit and to recognize whether he is dominated by a good or by an evil spirit and the gift to help him to freedom from his demon".[13]
Believers characterized their revered religious figures as having "a higher perfection… a specialCharisma".[13] Then, with the establishment of theChristian Church, "the old charismatic gifts and free offerings were transformed into a hierarchical sacerdotal system".[14] The focus on the institution rather than divinely inspired individuals increasingly dominated religious thought and life, and that focus went unchanged for centuries.[15]
In the 17th century church leaders, notably in theLatin tradition, accented "individual gifts [and] particular talents imparted byGod or theHoly Spirit." The 19th century brought a shift in emphasis toward individual and spiritual aspects of charisma;Protestant and someCatholictheologians narrowed the concept to superlative, out-of-the-ordinary, and virtuoso gifts. Simultaneously, the term became alienated from the much wider meaning thatearly Christians had attached to it.[9] Still, the narrowed term projected back to the earlier period "A systematically reflected and highly differentiated understanding of charisma was often unconsciously infused into the Scriptures and writings of the church fathers, so that these texts were no longer read through the eyes of the authors".[16]
These dialectic meanings influenced changes inPentecostalism in the late 19th century, andcharismatic movements in some mainline churches in the mid-20th century. The discussion in the21st Century Religion section explores whatcharisma means in these and other religious groups.
The basis for modern secular usage comes fromGermansociologistMax Weber. He discovered the term in the work ofRudolph Sohm, aGermanchurch historian whose 1892Kirchenrecht[17] was immediately recognized in Germany as an epoch-making work.[2] It also stimulated a debate between Sohm and leading theologians and religion scholars, which lasted more than twenty years and stimulated a rich polemical literature.[18] That debate and literature had madecharisma a popular term when Weber used it inThe Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and in hisSociology of Religion. Perhaps because he assumed that readers already understood the idea, Weber's early writings lacked definition or explanation of the concept. In the collection of his works,Economy and Society, he identified the term as a prime example of action he labeled "value-rational," in distinction from and opposition to action he labeled "Instrumentally rational."[19] Because he applied meanings forcharisma similar to Sohm, who had affirmed the purely charismatic nature of early Christianity,[10]: 1544 Weber'scharisma would have coincided with thedivinely conferred charisma sense defined above in Sohm's work.
Weber introduced thepersonality charisma sense when he appliedcharisma to designate a form of authority. To explaincharismatic authority, he developed his classic definition:
Charisma is a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These as such are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader.[20]: 328, 358ff
Here Weber extends the concept of charisma beyond supernatural to superhuman and even to exceptional powers and qualities. Sociologist Paul Joosse examined Weber's famous definition, and found that:
through simple yet profoundly consequential phrases such as "are considered" and "is treated", charisma becomes a relational, attributable, and at last a properly sociological concept.... For Weber, the locus of power is in the led, who actively (if perhaps unconsciously) invest their leaders with social authority.[2]
In other words, Weber indicates that it is followers who attribute powers to the individual, emphasizing that "the recognition on the part of those subject to authority" is decisive for the validity of charisma.[20]: 359
Weber died in 1920, leaving "disordered, fragmentary manuscripts without even the guidance of a plan or table of the proposed contents". One unfinished manuscript contained his above quoted definition ofcharisma.[21] It took over a quarter century for his work to be translated into English.[22] With regard to charisma, Weber's formulations are generally regarded as having revived the concept from its deep theological obscurity.[23] However, even with the admirable translations and prefaces of his entire works, many scholars have found Weber's formulations ambiguous. For the past half-century they have debated the meaning of many Weberian concepts, including the meaning ofcharisma, the role of followers, and the degree of a supernatural component.[21][24]
More recent research has investigated specific behavior patterns that can lead observers to perceive charisma. Through studies of audio and video recordings of people considered charismatic and not, and through experiments, it has become clear that posture, gestures, andprosodic behaviors play important roles.[25][26]Moreover, some of these behaviors can be taught.[27][28]
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