The origins of the term charisma are religious—used in the New Testament, “charisma” means “gift of grace” in Greek. When we speak of charisma today, we are generally not referring to this original sense, but maybe we should think about it more. This tension between religious charisma and the charisma wielded by political leaders is at the heart of historian Molly Worthen’s new book, Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump. Forum Books, 2025. Pp. 464.
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