Yes, most people do cling to their beliefs, whatever those beliefs are, even if there is never any corroboration.

I clung to my very firm belief that there were no extra-terrestrial vehicles visiting us, Bill....until one day in the late 60s when I saw a vehicle in the sky which I simply could not explain in any conventional manner (and I know a good deal about aircraft). After that I decided that the existence of extra-terrestrial visitors to this planet was a good deal more likely than I had previously thought! I don't say it's a certainty, because I don't know for certain. I say that I think it's likely, that's all, and I am basing that statement first and foremost on my own direct experience. Direct experience beats hell out of preconceived conventional assumptions which one acquired from parents, teachers, media, government, and the general culture around one. It convinces in a way that nothing else can.

I tell you this NOT to convince you of anything, just to explain why I abandoned a very firm belief I'd been clinging to...and opted to consider other possibilities. I abandoned a wholly unconfirmed certainty in the face of a wholly undeniable experience....and admitted that I don't already know everything.

This is what most people are loath to do. They act as if they already did know everything. Just ask them. ;-D They're apparently dead sure that they already know the score, and the score (as far as they're concerned) is ZERO for anyone who doesn't see it their way. That's not knowledge. It's not wisdom. It's not maturity. It's nothing but ego.