The idea that people believe what their tribe believes is as old a narrative as human experience. The idea that equal credibility could be given to data that defies tribal beliefs is a more recent development in the human narrative arc.
It's bringing about a new tribe. This is the tribe that believes that data is our friend, not the enemy. Buddhism is one of the oldest traditions in this tribal perspective, even today when we hear the Dalai Lama say you cannot be Buddhist and deny quantum physics.
Being confronted with open contradictions between data and tribal beliefs sends people into existential tailspins. The choice feels life threatening and untenable. If we can't live with the question about what each has to offer, we can default to the more viscerally imperative protection of tribal narratives. Escaping the dilemma becomes possible in living from new questions.