ABSTRACT
Social scientists use the term "charisma" to describe a special form of authority that is based on the belief that a person possesses extraordinary and perhaps divinely ordained powers. The terms "charisma" was widely used in early Christian thought, and early twentieth-century German theologians used the word when explaining that early Christianity was transformed from an ecstatic prophetic sect into an institutionalized church. The relationship between charismatic leaders and their followers leads to the formation of charismatic communities, which in their pure forms have been called "bunds" or "fusions". Charismatic movements and communities tend to arise during times that call for revolutionary or at least extraordinary behavior. Charismatic movements such as radical political parties, nonconforming religious sects, avant-garde artistic salons, or utopian communes always stand in opposition to the status quo. Antinomianism is strongest during the formative phases of charismatic movements.
