So, great intelligences must “have a background” to postulate intelligent opinions?.
No, but having the proper background will certainly help those intelligent opinions to be considered credible and accepted.
When discussing science and theology, it does indeed help to have some level of education on those topics. Otherwise, you run the risk of just making stuff up, reinventing the wheel, and/or making errors that have been made hundreds or thousands of years ago without realizing your ideas aren’t new.