The Routinization of Rajneeshpuram: Charisma and Authority in the Rajneesh Movement, 1981-1985
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Date
2015-07
Authors
Paulson, Dashiell Edward
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
This paper concerns the application of Max Weber's theory on the routinization
of charisma to the development of a large commune in southeast Oregon during the
early 1980s. Ma Anand Sheela reorganized this community from a purely charismatic
movement into a tightly regimented organization that she ruled through traditional,
despotic authority and a bureaucratic administrative staff characterized by their loyalty
to Sheela. Sheela's institutionalization of the Rajneesh movement at the Oregon
commune embodies Max Weber's theory on the routinization of charisma in social
groups, as argued in part 1 of his Wirtschafi und Gesellschafi.
Description
67 pages. A thesis presented to the Department of History and the Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Bachelor of Arts, Summer 2015.