Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow.
Superstitions are a universal phenomenon having their own peculiar place in the cultural ethos and milieu of a people. They epitomise man's fear of the unknown, fear of evil, blind faith in omens and portents. Superstitions are interwoven with myth, legend, unnatural phenomena and disaster, customs and traditions, and are mainly the outcome of ignorance. They are unreasonable and irrational beliefs that gradually become matters of faith. When certain things and happenings are rationally inexplicable, people tend to assign mysterious and supernatural reasons for their operation. Thus, a natural disaster is explained in terms of God's wrath and the failure of one's project is assigned to the black cat which crossed the path just as one set out on the errand.
The primitive human beings were mainly governed by superstitions. Superstitions were widespread before the dawn of civilisation when science had not advanced. Thus, ignorance of the primitive people and the resultant growth of superstitions were the direct outcomes of the lack of scientific advancement. Unenlightened people always tend to be superstitious. The belief in the sanctity of time and old traditions of the ancestors bind the people into knots of superstitious thought. Besides, the unscrupulous priests and religious officials exercise a dominating, unhealthy effect upon the people believing in religious orthodoxy. They encourage superstitions for their own ulterior motives. Superstitions are not only universally prevalent but even have strikingly common features whether believed in India or in as far off a place as Canada. There are some common superstitions which are shared by people all over the world. Beliefs in spirits, ghosts and witches and reincarnation are quite common among all the peoples of the world. Belief in witches still prevails in India, France, Scotland, England, and many other countries. In countries of the East, especially in India, belief in ghosts and spirits still exists. The cries of certain birds like owls and ravens and the howl of cats are regarded with superstition as portents of evil throughout the world. Then there is a very common belief that the sighting of comets portends the death of kings or great men or some unforeseen catastrophe. Shakespeare refers to such a superstition in his play/tragedy, Julius Caesar. Halley's Comet in the twentieth century evoked a similar response in many a mind.
What does the phrase 'religious orthodoxy' mean?