Scientists are seen by lots of people as secular priests or shamans. In this respect science is a victim of its own success. It now commands the attention of a lot of people who expect it to perform some of the social functions that religion used to play. "Science" is more likely to be hijacked by charlatans because of this totemic value.
That's very interesting. I think people need answers from the "answer authority", and once that authority is established, it is treated reverently and pressed to provide answers. As the "priests" are humans, too, there's no reason to believe they themselves are immune to this effect, even when they know how the sausage is made.
