Dogmatism is most harmful where it attaches to an individual’s most central beliefs.

Evidence

It probably goes without saying that we can be dogmatic about many different kinds of opinions: religious (the original connotation of dogmatism), societal, interpersonal, (dare I say it?) scientific, how we do our jobs, how we raise our children. Burt I think the dogmatism most worth studying, and potentially the most harmful, occurs in the areas of an individual’s life that are seen as the most crucial and important. I hope to focus on those. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 2646