The presentation of the charismatic self in everyday life: Reflections on a Canadian new religious movement

Abstract

Taking inspiration from Goffmans dramaturgical metaphor of sociality, this article explores the dynamics involved in the presentation of the charismatic self in everyday life, with a focus on the new religious movement led by John de Ruiter. The concept of "the everyday" was central to the thought of both Erving Goffman and Max Weber, and I illustrate how a marriage of insights from both thinkers can provide new opportunities for understanding the causes of charismatic disenchantment. Specifically, I focus on instances of discrepancy between de Ruiters charismatic and noncharismatic roles. Among the various alternative, noncharismatic images of de Ruiter that are in circulation, those of psychological and moral deviance produced and propounded by the countercult movement are less germane to processes of deconversion than simple "ordinary guy" roles that devotees glimpse during backstage encounters with him. © The Author 2011.