I agree totally! I'm always amazed at how much of a trance people are in with their beliefs. I think a lot of it is, people feel unsafe because they have no self-built philosophy, so they adopt those beliefs from someone else whom they "respect". It is good to have influences. But, I don't think people really know how to think about their beliefs, because society doesn't encourage that. In fact, it does everything it can to keep people from reaching a level of awareness where they might stop buying all the bullshit.
I find my happy place philosophically is taking the point of view of the universe, rather than that of any of the humans out there trying to sell me their beliefs. In the end, we're all going to end up dirt. Your beliefs are not going to save you from that. I find it all very short-sighted. Balance is definitely the key to awareness. If you are caught up in an extreme belief, you'll be missing everything on the other end of the spectrum.