I would say that it's actually really really hard to know what people believe. You can do this thought experiment where you pretend that you are a Martian anthropologist visiting Sector 301.
Pretend you ask somebody about their moral policy and philosophy. Then you look at their behavior. Then you repeat with other members of the population. And you begin to notice something really funny. Stated beliefs diverged from actual behavior, and that behavior is closely matched to surrounding peers.
Maybe it's because beliefs might exist in noisy states, or maybe it's because people lie about even the simple things, or maybe it's because people don't have that clear of a grasp on themselves.
I bring this up because sometimes I violate social norms by not backing down when I see someone is showing signs of anxiety or discomfort in a tough discussion. After you get through the initial and futile self-defense barrier that so many people throw up, the kind that looks like a showed-off shotgun blast of impulsive and unrefined arguments, they'll give the final omission, something along the lines of:
"Well I'm not a fucking scientist. Fuck you."
Well, what, they are so afraid of revealing their internal intellectual hierarchy -- the one written in and known to your very own mind -- that it takes so much work and provocation to get such a simple statement of self?
Another way of looking at how people supposedly don't respect scientists and doctors is with American religious fundamentalists who generally have a deep suspicion of science and hold silly apologetic conferences to combat the growing power of scientific arrogance.
But when a medical emergency comes, see how few parents will actually stand up to their beliefs. They don't. They're all lying. They're playing a stupid clan strategy game, but when their little girl is hurting inside for reasons outside of folk emotional tolerance (looks like you can't wait this one out!), then they rush to the hospital. But will they have no insurance because they didn't think about it before? No. These parents are serious parents. They want to protect their daughter. They bought insurance years ago.
Beware the wolves masquerading as Christian sheep. They seek to confuse your model of the world for their own utility.