LOL! No, I didn't mean "well everybody does this anyway, so who cares." Your dad's behavior might be more extreme than others. I don't know him, so I can't say.
However, I did think you might wish to consider that your dad could be going through a number of things right now -- and that "My dad is a stupid Scientologist" might not help either of you improve your relationship. However, that was an assumption on my part.
In my own experience, "most people" cannot offer very impeccable logical arguments to justify their faith in something, whether it's about their religion, career, diet or child-rearing. What they have are a few anecdotes that demonstrate their faith works under some circumstances, some group agreement with others who share their belief, a long history of practicing their belief (grooved-in habits), sloppy or no means of logicizing causes and effects, virtually no scientific skills or knowledge of the scientific method, and a big fat fear of learning that what they KNOWN for years might not be true after all.
Also, half the people in the world have an IQ of less than 100. Belief and faith are useful operating bases from their point of view.
Therefore, in my experience, most people no matter how smart they are (or aren't) don't go through life building and testing competing hypotheses. They go through life trying to get home in time for dinner.
With regard to whether your dad's behavior is unique to or exaggerated by his connection to Scientology -- and to help you build and test your own competing hypotheses -- you are hereby invited to my house for Thanksgiving later this year to meet about 50 of my relatives, none of whom are Scientologists. You might think you were eating turkey with your own relatives.
But I could be wrong.
Seriously, Adam, I wasn't trying to trivialize your dad's blind spots. I was just saying it like I see it. We also don't have to agree -- and there are lots of valid reasons why we might not.
TG1