I think I can help you. I recently went down this path of inquiry that you are on, and came away with a much stronger understanding of belief, from a scientific/philosophical standpoint.

Here's a link to a response to a similar question I got on reddit.

These ideas are not explored in a very rigorous way, I've discovered. Late 19th/eay 20th century French philosophers have done quite a bit of work on the subject. If you are a fan of Slavoj Zizek, he has done some great commentary as well as George Lakoff, though both commentator's message is so mired in political wonkery that it is sort of annoying to fish through it all for the info you might be looking for.

Also, I'm not an expert or anything, but I did spend roughly 6 months researching the topic of belief and ideology. My comment history has many instances where I have applied my limited understanding to specific questions, and my responses are directly linked to this inquiry. My understanding is also growing still, so if you find any uncertainties or inconsistencies, use the more recent comments first for reference, or pm me for clarification. Unfortunately, the language I use to piece everything together is dense and probably outdated, but I'm not a linguist.

Some definitions to help you:

Metaphor: understanding thing A by referencing thing B

Meme: information in transit.

Cognitive frame: the system of metaphors that resides in our understanding of a thing. Frames exist within frames and reference each other like drawers within drawers.

Heuristic: automatic, short-cut thinking

Ideology: a set of metaphors designed to fill or replace the understanding within a cognitive framework. Ideologies are not personally held, they are perpetuated by institutions.

Schema: Cognitive framework of beliefs held by an individual

Schemata: strict, unadaptable schema

Good luck, and contact me if you have any questions.