re: Does science have a duty to "spread the word?"
The last "South Park" this season postulated a future civilization where the influence of religion had been eliminated. The civilization was embroiled in bitter warfare over scientific questions.
It is fairly obvious that although the basic question being addressed at that conference does need to be addressed, a few of the people there seem to have "issues" that probably need to be dealt with first. I was favorably impressed by Tyson, among others.
The "Beyond Belief" website with videos, linked in the article, is here. I would prefer transcripts to videos, for time reasons, but I this is probably worth watching.