ABSTRACT
Weber’s sociology of religion is populated by diverse actors with distinct sources of charismatic authority – the prophet, the priest, the successor, the lineage, the religious bureaucrat, the church and the sectarian congregation. The thesis of the present study is that the prophet-founder of the BahÇ ¥ faith, BahÇallÇh (1817-92), designed his religion to incorporate a number of different contemporaneous centres of authority. The puzzle that needs explanation, however, is that for all practical purposes most of these charismatic actors ultimately lapsed or were contained or excluded. Even during those periods when it was possible for them to co-exist harmoniously, they seldom did. What historical developments and causes can be adduced to explain how the will of the Prophet was thwarted?
