Charismatic women in religion. Power, media and social change. Issue 1 (2nd January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Van Osselaer, Tine; Rossi, Leonardo; Smeyers, Kristof; Graus, Andrea
• Is Part Of: Women's history review. Volume 29:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 17
• Publication Date: 2020-01-02
• Subjects: Women -- History -- Periodicals; 305.4
• DOI: 10.1080/09612025.2019.1595200
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0961-2025

Abstract

ABSTRACT: 'Charisma' can be a catch-all term that obfuscates more than it reveals. What it does reveal often says more about the historical and cultural context in which 'charisma' was deployed than about its subject. In this introduction we trace the concept's contextual shifts across its intersections with gender, religion and power. We explore the different ways in which women in the religious sphere have been considered charismatic, thereby addressing Max Weber's definition of 'charisma' as well as its subsequent reinventions in the social sciences and the humanities. Particular focus goes to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when the mediatization of 'charisma' created new opportunities and risks for women in religion.