Conventional wisdom has both social and psychological consequences. Socially, it creates a world of hierarchies and boundaries. Some of these may be inherited, as with differences in gender, race, or physical conditions are assigned different cultural values and roles. Some are more the product of performance: there are some people who measure up to the standards of conventional wisdom than others.
Psychologically, conventional wisdom becomes the basis for identity and self-esteem. It is internalised within the psyche as the superego, as "that which stands over me" and to which I must measure up. The superego (whether we choose to call it that or not) is the internalised voice of culture, the storehouse of oughts within our heads and it functions as a generally critical (though sometimes congratulatory) internal voice. It is the internal cop and the internal judge. Conventional wisdom provides its specific content. I am who I am according to the standards of conventional wisdom, and I will think well or poorly of myself depending on how well I measure up to its standards. Conventional wisdom is thus life under the superego.
In short, whether in religious or secular form, conventional wisdom creates a world in which we live. It contsructs a world; indeed, it is the construction. It is a domestication of reality, a net we cast over reality. It is basically life within the socially constructed world. Ray