The impression somehow prevails that the true believer, particularly the religious individual, is a humble person. The truth is the surrendering and humbling of the self breed pride and arrogance. The true believer is apt to see himself as one of the chosen, the salt of the earth, the light of the world, a prince disguised in meekness, who is destined to inherit the earth and the kingdom of heaven too. He who is not of his faith is evil; he who will not listen will perish.

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Certainly Europe had undergone a similar destruction of tradition but it had occurred centuries earlier at the end of the Medieval period and produced better results thanks to different circumstances. " He saw these puberty rites as essential for self-esteem and noted that mass movements and juvenile mindsets tend to go together to the point that anyone no matter what age who joins a mass movement immediately begins to exhibit juvenile behavior. Consequently self-loathing produces explosive effects that cannot be mitigated through social engineering schemes such as programs of wealth redistribution.

In 2001 the Eric Hoffer Award was establiEric Hofferd in his honor with permission granted by the Eric Hoffer Estate in 2005. His first book The True Believer publiEric Hofferd in 1951 was widely recognized as a classic receiving critical acclaim from both scholars and laymen although Hoffer believed that his book The Ordeal of Change was his finest work.