Charisma
The
term charisma (pronounced /kəˈrɪzmə/; pl. charismata, adj. charismatic) has two
senses:
(1)
compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others,
(2)
a divinely conferred power or talent. For some theological usages the term is
rendered charism, with a meaning the same as sense 2. Since the 1950s, the term
has become widely used, with varying meanings, in religion, the social sciences,
the media, and throughout Western societies. This article describes the
theological and personality senses of the definition of charisma, the history of
the term, and 21st century uses of both senses in particular sectors of
society.
Etymology
The English
term charisma is from the Greek χάρισμα khárisma, which means "favor freely
given" or "gift of grace". The term and its plural χαρίσματα (charismata) derive
from χάρις (charis), which means "grace". Some derivatives from that root
(including "grace") have similar meanings to the modern sense of personality
charisma, such as "filled with attractiveness or charm", "kindness", "to bestow
a favor or service", or "to be favored or blessed". Moreover, the ancient Greek
dialect widely used in Roman times employed these terms without the connotations
found in modern religious usage. Ancient Greeks applied personality charisma to
their gods; for example, attributing charm, beauty, nature, human creativity or
fertility to goddesses they called Charites (Χάριτες).
Theologians
and social scientists have expanded and modified the original Greek meaning into
the two distinct senses above. For ease of reference, we will call the first
sense personality charisma and the second divinely conferred
charisma.
The meaning
of charisma has become greatly diffused from its original divinely conferred
meaning, and even from the personality charisma meaning in modern English
dictionaries, which reduces to a mixture of charm and status. John Potts, who
has extensively analyzed the term's history, sums up meanings beneath this
diffused common usage.
Contemporary charisma maintains, however, the irreducible
character ascribed to it by Weber: it retains a mysterious, elusive quality.
Media commentators regularly describe charisma as the 'X-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.
History
Divinely
conferred charisma
The Hebrew
Bible and the Christian Bible record the development of divinely conferred
charisma. In the Hebrew text the idea of charismatic leadership is generally
signaled by the use of the noun hen (favor) or the verb hanan (to show favor).
The Greek term for charisma (grace or favor), and its root charis (grace)
replaced the Hebrew terms in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (the 3rd
century BC Septuagint). Throughout, "the paradigmatic image of the charismatic
hero is the figure who has received God's favor". In other words, divinely
conferred charisma applied to highly revered figures.
Thus,
Eastern Mediterranean Jews in the 1st century CE had notions of charis and
charisma that embraced the range of meanings found in Greek culture and the
spiritual meanings from the Hebrew Bible. From this linguistic legacy of fused
cultures, in 1 Corinthians, Paul the Apostle introduced the meaning that the
Holy Spirit bestowed charism and charismata, "the gift of God's grace", upon
individuals or groups. For Paul, "here is a clear distinction between charisma
and charis; charisma is the direct result of divine charis or
grace".
In the New
Testament Epistles, Paul refers to charisma or its plural charismata seven times
in 1 Corinthians, written in Koine (or common) Greek around 54 CE. He elaborates
on his concepts with six references in Romans (c. 56). He makes 3 individual
references in 2 Corinthians (c. 56), 1 Timothy, and 2 Timothy (c. 62 - c. 67).
The seventeenth and only other mention of charisma is in 1
Peter.
The gospels,
written in the late first century, apply divinely conferred charisma to revered
figures. Examples are accounts of Jesus' baptism and of his transfiguration, in
which disciples see him as radiant with light, appearing together with Moses and
Elijah. Another example is Gabriel's greeting to Mary as "full of grace". In
these and other instances early 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".
Believers
characterized their revered religious figures as having "a higher perfection … a
special Charisma". Then, with the establishment of the Christian Church, "the
old charismatic gifts and free offerings were transformed into a hierarchical
sacerdotal system". The focus on the institution rather than divinely inspired
individuals increasingly dominated religious thought and life, and that focus
went unchanged for centuries.
Additional
changes began in the 17th century when church leaders, notably in the Latin
tradition, accented "individual gifts particular talents imparted by God or the
Holy Spirit". The 19th century brought an increasing shift in emphasis toward
individual and spiritual aspects of charisma; Protestant and some Catholic
theologians narrowed the concept to superlative, out-of-the-ordinary, and
virtuoso gifts. Simultaneously, the term became alienated from the much wider
meaning that early Christians had attached to it. 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".
These
dialectic meanings influenced notable changes in pentecostalism in the late 19th
century, and charismatic movements in some mainline churches in the mid-20th
century. The discussion in the 21st Century Religion section explores what
charisma means in these and other religious groups.
Secular
history
The basis
for modern secular usage comes from German sociologist Max Weber. He discovered
the term in the work of Rudolph Sohm, a German church historian whose 1892
Kirchenrecht was immediately recognized in Germany as an epoch-making work. 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. The debate and literature had made charisma a popular term when
Weber used it in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and in his
Sociology of Religion. Perhaps because he assumed that readers already
understood the idea, Weber's early writings lacked definition or explanation of
the concept. Because he applied meanings for charisma similar to Sohm, who had
affirmed the purely charismatic nature of early Christianity, Weber's charisma
would have coincided with the divinely conferred charisma sense defined above in
Sohm's work.
Weber
introduced the personality charisma sense when he applied charisma to designate
a form of authority. To explain charismatic 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 are such as 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.
Here Weber
extends the concept of charisma beyond supernatural to superhuman and even to
exceptional powers and qualities. He then indicates that followers endow the
individual with powers, regard these powers as of divine origin or just
exemplary, and treat him as a leader. In another passage, Weber emphasizes that
"the recognition on the part of those subject to authority" is decisive for the
validity of charisma. In other words, charisma can only be that which believers
recognize as charismatic in those they treat as such.
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 of charisma.[24] It took over a quarter
century for his work to be translated into English. With regard to charisma,
Weber's formulations are generally regarded as having revived the concept from
its deep theological obscurity. 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 of charisma, the role of followers, and
the degree of a supernatural component.
21st-century
religion
Pentecostal
and Charismatic Christianity
The
Charismatic Movement is a trend in Christianity distinguished by its belief in
the renewal of supernatural gifts and powers
term charisma (pronounced /kəˈrɪzmə/; pl. charismata, adj. charismatic) has two
senses:
(1)
compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others,
(2)
a divinely conferred power or talent. For some theological usages the term is
rendered charism, with a meaning the same as sense 2. Since the 1950s, the term
has become widely used, with varying meanings, in religion, the social sciences,
the media, and throughout Western societies. This article describes the
theological and personality senses of the definition of charisma, the history of
the term, and 21st century uses of both senses in particular sectors of
society.
Etymology
The English
term charisma is from the Greek χάρισμα khárisma, which means "favor freely
given" or "gift of grace". The term and its plural χαρίσματα (charismata) derive
from χάρις (charis), which means "grace". Some derivatives from that root
(including "grace") have similar meanings to the modern sense of personality
charisma, such as "filled with attractiveness or charm", "kindness", "to bestow
a favor or service", or "to be favored or blessed". Moreover, the ancient Greek
dialect widely used in Roman times employed these terms without the connotations
found in modern religious usage. Ancient Greeks applied personality charisma to
their gods; for example, attributing charm, beauty, nature, human creativity or
fertility to goddesses they called Charites (Χάριτες).
Theologians
and social scientists have expanded and modified the original Greek meaning into
the two distinct senses above. For ease of reference, we will call the first
sense personality charisma and the second divinely conferred
charisma.
The meaning
of charisma has become greatly diffused from its original divinely conferred
meaning, and even from the personality charisma meaning in modern English
dictionaries, which reduces to a mixture of charm and status. John Potts, who
has extensively analyzed the term's history, sums up meanings beneath this
diffused common usage.
Contemporary charisma maintains, however, the irreducible
character ascribed to it by Weber: it retains a mysterious, elusive quality.
Media commentators regularly describe charisma as the 'X-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.
History
Divinely
conferred charisma
The Hebrew
Bible and the Christian Bible record the development of divinely conferred
charisma. In the Hebrew text the idea of charismatic leadership is generally
signaled by the use of the noun hen (favor) or the verb hanan (to show favor).
The Greek term for charisma (grace or favor), and its root charis (grace)
replaced the Hebrew terms in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (the 3rd
century BC Septuagint). Throughout, "the paradigmatic image of the charismatic
hero is the figure who has received God's favor". In other words, divinely
conferred charisma applied to highly revered figures.
Thus,
Eastern Mediterranean Jews in the 1st century CE had notions of charis and
charisma that embraced the range of meanings found in Greek culture and the
spiritual meanings from the Hebrew Bible. From this linguistic legacy of fused
cultures, in 1 Corinthians, Paul the Apostle introduced the meaning that the
Holy Spirit bestowed charism and charismata, "the gift of God's grace", upon
individuals or groups. For Paul, "here is a clear distinction between charisma
and charis; charisma is the direct result of divine charis or
grace".
In the New
Testament Epistles, Paul refers to charisma or its plural charismata seven times
in 1 Corinthians, written in Koine (or common) Greek around 54 CE. He elaborates
on his concepts with six references in Romans (c. 56). He makes 3 individual
references in 2 Corinthians (c. 56), 1 Timothy, and 2 Timothy (c. 62 - c. 67).
The seventeenth and only other mention of charisma is in 1
Peter.
The gospels,
written in the late first century, apply divinely conferred charisma to revered
figures. Examples are accounts of Jesus' baptism and of his transfiguration, in
which disciples see him as radiant with light, appearing together with Moses and
Elijah. Another example is Gabriel's greeting to Mary as "full of grace". In
these and other instances early 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".
Believers
characterized their revered religious figures as having "a higher perfection … a
special Charisma". Then, with the establishment of the Christian Church, "the
old charismatic gifts and free offerings were transformed into a hierarchical
sacerdotal system". The focus on the institution rather than divinely inspired
individuals increasingly dominated religious thought and life, and that focus
went unchanged for centuries.
Additional
changes began in the 17th century when church leaders, notably in the Latin
tradition, accented "individual gifts particular talents imparted by God or the
Holy Spirit". The 19th century brought an increasing shift in emphasis toward
individual and spiritual aspects of charisma; Protestant and some Catholic
theologians narrowed the concept to superlative, out-of-the-ordinary, and
virtuoso gifts. Simultaneously, the term became alienated from the much wider
meaning that early Christians had attached to it. 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".
These
dialectic meanings influenced notable changes in pentecostalism in the late 19th
century, and charismatic movements in some mainline churches in the mid-20th
century. The discussion in the 21st Century Religion section explores what
charisma means in these and other religious groups.
Secular
history
The basis
for modern secular usage comes from German sociologist Max Weber. He discovered
the term in the work of Rudolph Sohm, a German church historian whose 1892
Kirchenrecht was immediately recognized in Germany as an epoch-making work. 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. The debate and literature had made charisma a popular term when
Weber used it in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and in his
Sociology of Religion. Perhaps because he assumed that readers already
understood the idea, Weber's early writings lacked definition or explanation of
the concept. Because he applied meanings for charisma similar to Sohm, who had
affirmed the purely charismatic nature of early Christianity, Weber's charisma
would have coincided with the divinely conferred charisma sense defined above in
Sohm's work.
Weber
introduced the personality charisma sense when he applied charisma to designate
a form of authority. To explain charismatic 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 are such as 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.
Here Weber
extends the concept of charisma beyond supernatural to superhuman and even to
exceptional powers and qualities. He then indicates that followers endow the
individual with powers, regard these powers as of divine origin or just
exemplary, and treat him as a leader. In another passage, Weber emphasizes that
"the recognition on the part of those subject to authority" is decisive for the
validity of charisma. In other words, charisma can only be that which believers
recognize as charismatic in those they treat as such.
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 of charisma.[24] It took over a quarter
century for his work to be translated into English. With regard to charisma,
Weber's formulations are generally regarded as having revived the concept from
its deep theological obscurity. 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 of charisma, the role of followers, and
the degree of a supernatural component.
21st-century
religion
Pentecostal
and Charismatic Christianity
The
Charismatic Movement is a trend in Christianity distinguished by its belief in
the renewal of supernatural gifts and powers
