"Consensus belief" refers to a widely shared agreement or opinion among a group of people. It means most people in the group agree on something and consider it true or valid. Full definition
This acceptance and promotion of an unproven hypothesis lead to a dogmatic, consensus belief by doctors and dietitians that everyone needs to replace fats with carbohydrates. (c3headlines.com)
The Greenland ice core finding was not expected (the old consensus belief was that climate changes were gradual) and many at first stated the planet's climate could not possibly change that rapidly. (realclimate.org)
Even over the past ten years or so, we've seen the best scientific predictions proved wrong — global warming is getting much worse, much faster, than the consensus belief in 1999. (science.slashdot.org)