be very careful to believe the right things in order to maintain membership
That's a good way of describing the behaviour of the pundits and hacks who scribble or mouth the crap that rains down on us.
They don't get told what to do. It isn't necessary. They know what to do. When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind
You're just part of the Anglo-Saxon plot to undermine the French - just a bit more devious! In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
More seriously, there's a distinct difference between defending groups of which you are to some degree a part against clearly unjust criticism and becoming a signed up adherent and propagandist. You can see some of the supposed tribal priests aren't entirely easy members on some things: Martin Wolf for instance.
