Yes, but in practice who follows it to that level of detail? From a layperson's point of view, are the astrophysicists that much different than a priestly cast

Yes, but in practice who follows it to that level of detail? From a layperson's point of view, are the astrophysicists that much different than a priestly caste? I believe the physicists, but I don't think that by itself makes me a particularly rigorous thinker. In the ancient world I probably would have believed the priests, because it was what made sense to people. And for better or for worse we have lots of evidence that people can reject science and still enjoy its benefits. It's not like refusing to believe in the Big Bang gets you blacklisted from using rockets or microchips, or rejecting evolution means you can't get vaccinated.