Try being openly creationist at a major university, you'll quickly discover the kind of social pressure science can bring to bear.

There were several people in my physics phd program who were openly creationist, and they were politely left alone. I don't know of an environment more science-filled, and honestly I've never known a higher density of creationists.

The spread of scientific ideas from Europe was almost entirely by conquest.

Only in a very literal sense. Nobody said "let's conquer everyone in order to spread the atomic of theory of matter" and once they conquered they didn't execute people who didn't believe in atoms or decide that people who don't believe in atoms are not permitted to testify in court.

Try being openly creationist at a major university, you'll quickly discover the kind of social pressure science can bring to bear.

That's not the same kind of social pressure. I'm referring to one's personal life, not one's professional life.

Although they might get told to go to the doctor and not the New Age healer.

Where do you draw the line, though ? Kids also get told to brush their teeth and to never play in traffic...