also bear in mind that you are grossly overgeneralizing when you say, "Religion on the other hand is all about 'believing in' things, and refusing to change one's mind no matter what."
That is false. Hinduism and buddhuism are quite the opposite. Particularly zen buddhism. They all hold that knowledge is the key to enlightenment and freedom from rebirth and that therefor, you should alter your way of life as you become more enlightened. Zen, in particular, holds that one can only learn things first hand, as no second hand knoledge is sufficient. Only first hand experience will suffice to zen buddhists. a popular zen story tells of a zen monk who was asked how deep the Zen River was wilste standing on a bridge. He immediataly grabbed the person who wasked him and would have thrown him into the river if he had not been stopped by onlookers. The monk wanted the person who asked him to go to the bottom of the river to measure it himself. Zen holds that all outside help for knowledge is futile. And this has some merrit. You can read books all you want but until you actually get experience, it is all theoretical knowledge and is worthless. Thats why when you leave law school, you have to start as an intern or junior attorney. Thats why to be a teacher you must be an interns before you get your credentials. you lack experience and must gain first hand experience before you're deemed worthy to teach.
hinduism and buddhism have MANY different schools and denominations which are so large that they could be seen as their own religions. and they all mandate one gain person knowledge and alter their world view accordingly. and they all venerate knowledge. why do you think Ghandi is so respected. he was a hindu monk. inspite of the fact that he was racist against black people, he insisted that people learn from the past. he knew violent revolts would not defeat the worlds greatest empire but civil resistance would and so, he urged people to change their method of revolt. and it worked.
lumping religion into a big pile like that falls into the same trap that most religions do. not all christianity is blind. there are many liberal forms of christianity that view the bible as largely metaphorical. i just dont believe it because it lacks empirical evidence