Beyond this, to assume science is the 'authority' would be to commit the same fallacy (scientism) - and science has been politicized with beliefs. We have seen white church robes changed to white lab coats regarding man made global warming, the multiverse, behavioral science, etc... College research grants can come with strings attached regarding outcomes.
That question was answered.
Since you missed it, here it is again:
There is no ontological or epistemological reason to believe from first principles that the evolution of human consciousness from mindlessness is any less likely than the idea that there has always existed an Original Consciousness from which all consciousness comes.
What I believe is faith. What I can prove is science. Science, for all of its faults, has a long way to go before its acceptance on faith causes anywhere near the damage caused by priests pretending they understood the secrets of the world; they understood nothing, and they knew it, or they would not have tortured and murdered people who questioned their orthodoxy.
No good comes of mixing science with religion -- in either direction.