Scientists and clerics have much in common.  Both take a world that can’t be fully understood and try to explain its fundamental properties

Clerics postulate beliefs that can never be proven; they demand you accept these postulates as your faith, which will guide your actions and thoughts.  It’s a top down way of thinking; start with the big picture and derive rules for living.  Fundamental knowledge is static.  Even the derived rules rarely change.

Scientists work from the bottom up.  They build a baseline of observations and formulate theories to explain these phenomena.  Nothing is sacred, with new observations; theories are discarded or modified to fit the facts.