Several years ago I attended a private function at a highly esteemed religious institution (neither the name nor the type of religion is relevant to this article). I was excited to meet face-to-face people who possessed an excellent reputation and were valued amongst the masses of their religion. The nature of the engagement allowed these leaders to be in a more natural environment where they could let their guard down. Unfortunately, the excitement was quickly squashed when the true nature of their character was revealed. The enthusiasm was instead replaced with disgust. What did become apparent was a group mentality of narcissism. The dichotomous thinking was extreme: either you came from them and were 100% for them or you were neither. There was no middle ground, no grace for differing opinions, no real forgiveness for disloyal behavior, no tolerance for those who didn’t follow their rules, no mercy for the suffering (this is seen as consequence of poor choices), and no allowance

Source: Spiritual Elitism: Narcissism of the Masses | The Exhausted Woman