ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses sociological writings of Max Weber. Weber writes three sources of legitimate power, or "authority". His classical theoretical statement on why and how people cede authority to leaders applies well to religious organizations. In the US, authority in religious organizations is often vested in bureaucratic structures, though traditional and charismatic leaders also persist. There are three pure types of legitimate authority, namely rational character, traditional character, charismatic character. According to statutory authority, obedience is the legally prescribed technically impersonal order. It is further accorded specific persons in whom authority is vested on the basis of the formal legitimacy of this legally prescribed order, its dispositions and its scope. In case of charismatic authority, it is charismatically qualified leader to whom obedience is accorded and on the basis of a personal trust in the leader's revelation, his heroism or his exemplary character within the parameters of the individual's willingness to believe in this charisma.
