Religious Leadership in “the Movement and Institution”

Experts consider religious leadership a referent of charismatic leadership, if it is achieved in the course of a mass movement. Its stability and sustainability are uncertain though, especially when succession and a change of situation are at stake. This is the essence of Max Weber’s classic theories of charismatic authority. The experience of Islamic Revolution, and consequently the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, have seriously exposed the theory to serious contradictions and challenges and put forth the necessity of fundamental revisions, including the revision of “instability of charismatic relations”. The findings of this paper show that charismatic relations are still stable despite entering into the phase of “institution” and the occurrence of “succession”. This is because of the existence of the element of ideology-fidelity, which is common in both situations.k