Routinization of charisma

Routinization of charisma The "routinization of charisma" is an expression dating from German

sociologist Max Weber's classic sociology of religion. A prophetic leader attracts followers to his antitraditional message by his personal magnetism or force of personality, in short, his "charisma." To
keep a movement going after the death of the original founder, however, that charisma must be
"routinized," or redirected to the continuing leadership and meaning of the organization. The path of
routinization is fraught with danger since it by definition results in a formalization of the meanings of
the original movement, involving institutionalization, and the formation of a new "tradition" and the
potential for schism and new "charismatic leaders" to emerge. As institutionalized religions spread
the teachings of their founders, there is a danger that more energy will go into preserving the outer
form of the traditions than into maintaining their original inner spirit. A recent example of the difficulty
of routinization can be seen in the troubles experienced by the Robert H. Schuller televangelism
empire as it has attempted to "routinize" the original charisma of the elder Schuller and transfer its
continuing authority to his son.