List of charismatic leaders as defined by Max Weber's classification of authority
This is a list of people whose leadership has been characterized as based on charismatic authority by listed sources. Charismatic authority is a sociological concept and one of three forms of authority as defined by Max Weber's tripartite classification of authority.
Weber defines charismatic authority as: "resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him."
In politics
- William Aberhart
- Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
- Fidel Castro
- Winston Churchill
- Bill Clinton
- Pim Fortuyn
- Mahatma Gandhi (also involved in religion)
- Dalai Lama (mostly involved in religion, Tibetan Buddhism)
- Adolf [...]
- Saddam Hussein
- Hồ Chí Minh
- John F. Kennedy
- Patrice Lumumba
- Ronald Reagan
- Lech Wałęsa
- Gamal Abdel Nasser
In religions and new religious movements
- A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896 – 1977)
- Adi Da (Franklin Jones) (1939 - )
- Billy Graham (1918 - )
- Charles Taze Russell (1852 – 1916)
- Moses David Berg (1919 - 1994)
- Elijah (c. 9th century BC)
- Jim Jones
- Joseph Smith (1805 – 1844)
- L. Ron Hubbard (1911 – 1986)
- Martin Luther (1483 – 1546)
- Moses
- Nirmala Srivastava, also called Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. (1923 - )
- Prem Rawat, known to his students as Maharaji.McGuire, Meredith B. "Religion: the Social Context" fifth edition (2002) ISBN 0-534-54126-7 Chapter. 5 "The dynamics of religious collectivities", section “How Religious Collectivities Develop and Change’’, sub-section "Organizational Transformations" page 175
"As Weber pointed out, the long-term impact of a movement hinges on transformation of bases of authority and leadership from a charismatic mode to either traditional or legal-traditional rational structures. When a movement becomes established, there is a strong tendency for the organization to calcify around the memory of the early dynamism; its own tradition becomes the rationalization for why things should be done in a certain way. Early stages of a movement organization involve simple structures such as the charismatic leader and followers or leader, core followers, and other followers. The transition to legal-rational structures is typically accompanied by the elaboration and standardization of procedures, the emergence of specialized statuses and roles, and the formalizing of communication among members. The early years of the Divine Light Mission (DLM) in the United States were characterized by rapidly growing, loosely affiliated local ashrams (i.e., groups of devotees, usually living communally), united mainly by the devotion to the ambiguous charismatic figure of Guru Maharaj Ji. As the DLM became increasingly structured and centralized, leadership and power focused in the Denver headquarters. The guru's desire to consolidate his power and authority over the movement in the United States resulted in greater formalization: rules and regulation for ashram living, standards for recruited "candidates", and pressure toward certifying movements teachers. " (Thomas Pilarzyk ‘’The origin, development, and decline of a youth culture religion: An application of the sectarianization theory’’ in Review of Religious Research 20, 1:33-37, 1978) ”
(1957 - )
- Rajneesh, also called Bhagwan and Osho. (1931 – 1990)
- Sathya Sai Baba (1926 -)
- Sun Myung Moon (1920 - )
- Werner Erhard (1935 - )
See also
- Authority
- Charisma
Bibliography
- Knott, Kim Dr. South Asian Religions in Britain page 766, Table 22.1 in the Handbook of Living Religions edited by John R. Hinnels (1997), second edition, ISBN 0-14-051480-5