Molly Worthen, Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will present this year’s annual Frederic C. Wood Lecture.

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 us cut through the confusion and recover insights from the Christian tradition. 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.

The Frederic C. Wood, Jr. Memorial Lecture, an endowed annual event, is free and open to the public. Wood was an Associate Professor of Religion and the College’s chaplain in the late 1960s.

Sponsored by the Department of Religion and co-sponsored by the Program of American and Native American Studies and the Department of History. 

About Molly Worthen

Molly Worthen is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a freelance journalist. Her research and teaching focus on North American religious and intellectual history and global Christianity. Her most recent book is Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump (2025); she has also published books on modern evangelicalism and U.S. diplomatic history. Worthen writes regularly about religion, politics, and higher education for The New York Times and has also written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and other publications.