Molly Worthen
The Rise of Charisma, the Fall of Experts, and the Future of Politics
What is charisma? In the context of politics, sometimes we use the word as a synonym for charm; in other cases, it can imply immoral manipulation. Just as often, charisma is a hazy word that we punt to when, frankly, we don’t understand a leader’s appeal at all. A survey of the dynamics between leaders and followers across American history helps cut through the confusion and explain today’s crisis of institutional authority. A charismatic leader is not necessarily charming or good-looking, but is always a particular kind of storyteller. Charisma in secular politics remains more connected to charisma in the original New Testament sense than we might think—and theological concepts like transcendence and idolatry are more relevant than ever.
Molly Worthen is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a freelance journalist. She received her BA and PhD from Yale University. Her research focuses on North American religious and intellectual history. Her most recent book, Spellbound (2025), is a history of charisma as both a religious and a political concept from the Puritans to the Trump era. She also created a course for Audible, Charismatic Leaders Who Remade America. Worthen lectures widely on religion and politics and teaches courses on North American religious and intellectual culture, global Christianity, and the history of ideas. She writes about religion, politics, and higher education for the New York Times and has also contributed to the Atlantic, The New Yorker, Slate, and other publications.