Doo we end up losing sight of what we really believe?

I was working on a reply to FTSE's post because I thought it touched upon an interesting point. Then I noticed it had disappeared.
Hence a hastily assembled post that strives to be relevant and topical ;O)

It seemed to me that the underlying question FTSE's thread posed was :
Do belief systems need to create an illusion of ’secret knowledge’ that only the upper hierarchy, the ‘high priests’ truly understand?

Which made me wonder - If so how do they balance this against the growing background of paranoia?

However, I thought that with the growing furore over the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords it might be better to ask the question of -
How do we lose end up losing sight of what we really believe?

Surely it is because we trust in the system.
I suppose with religious belief systems the hierarchy is built on a privileged relationship with the Divine and so with a scientific belief system you would expect it to be built upon a privileged relationship with reality.

However, it would seem to me that in both cases it is not the established ‘truths’ of the belief system that really define the most important effects these ‘systems’ have on the layman but rather the opinions of the ‘High Priests’

I’ve long argued that it isn’t the belief of the belief system that fails us but the system itself.
Men being men will always allow their own personal prejudices to steer their agendas and pretty soon these agenda can become the very opposite of the original intent.

The most worrying aspect of this is that it inevitably leads to a schism between those who blindly follow the ’evolution’ of belief and those who see it as a betrayal.

Of course this does not only apply to religion and science but also to politics too.

In Thailand you have the so called Buddhist sect Santi Asoke supporting an extremely right-wing political pressure group (PAD).
Its chief devotee, Chamlong, suggesting several months ago that the army should shoot the Red Shirt protestors in Bangkok without anyone pointing out that surely this is the antithesis of Buddhism.

While in America the Right wing Christians seem willing to shoot at anyone or anything that suggests that ‘loving your brother as yourself’ might mean being a bit more socialist.

Perhaps ‘High Priests’ of all persuasions will have to become more accountable!