Charismatics without authority? Informality and commitment in charismatic small groups in Moorea (French Polynesia)

Abstract This ethnography of a charismatic group in French Polynesia aims to shed light on the patterns of authority and commitment within such informal religious spaces connected to the global economy of charismatism. Through analysis of the personal itineraries of several members of ‘Jean's group’ and through the observation of a march organized by the group in question in January 2012, I question the apparent paradox of a group infused with a charismatic culture full of prophets and apostles, but which is practically devoid of any formative authority.