Robin,
I do find an important distinction between the East and the West in that the popular view seems to be held forth as authoritatively "true" in the West whereas in the East the sages who have gone beyond the popular myths are venerated and it's understood that the deities and concepts of popular religion are there to help people along the path but that at some point the popular notions will be transcended.
Fundamentalist Christians in America and on this list tend to strongly hold that the teaching myths are literally true and to disagree with doctrine invalidates those who don't agree with them. I don't know much about Catholicism but it does appear they have shunted there ER's off into monasteries and so to some extent allow it but in a highly controlled and often silenced manner. I know Bernadetta Roberts believed that St. John the Divine might have written more had it not been for the Spanish Inquisition. The church did declare the teachings of Meister Eckert heresy though neither he nor Roberts believed that to be the case.
In brief it does seem to me that literalism is the curse of the Judeo Christian Islamic etc. religious traditions in the west and has led down through the centuries to the religious violence that is ongoing in the west today. Ethnic religious violence is a problem in the east also though much of it is the result of the Islamic invasions. I'm not claiming that it's unique to the middle eastern intolerant "monotheism" but it is is exacerbated by it.
Buddhism having no divine revelation has the most peaceful tolerant record by far and I hold that is significantly because it doesn't claim it's teachings were delivered from the divine source of the universe. What you speak of as "conscious" is something I think Buddhism addresses as "compassion". Compassion being a fundamental teaching of Buddhism.
lfen