I can only speak to this anecdotally, but in my observations, yes, especially so when you're in areas of far less socioeconomic success than that of Western Eur

I can only speak to this anecdotally, but in my observations, yes, especially so when you're in areas of far less socioeconomic success than that of Western Europe, financially-driven city-states like Singapore (or Hong Kong, if you can call it one still), or Japan. Whether it is organized religion or superstition, there is a lot of folk knowledge that people still hold as equivalent and valuable, probably due to confirmation bias or the pain of cognitive dissonance in recognizing that an old adage is incorrect. Look at a good chunk of the Mideast as it exists today geopolitically; even wealthy areas like the UAE exist under pretty much strict Sharia interpretations. I have also observed this appears to be the case for a large chunk of the Muslim world, a decent part of Africa, Central America, and the Philippines, from my interactions with people natively from those areas outside of a scientific or professional atmosphere. I have a strong tendency to talk to anyone and everyone I can about their cultures, whether I am in their native land or they are in mine.