Question For Fellow Atheists...

[robvalue]

People are generally extremely susceptible to the appeal to popularity, and so tend to conform. This makes it more understandable to be religious than to believe some other equally absurd thing in isolation. It's illogical, but it's human. As has been mentioned, the human brain is fantastic at compartmentalising.

I'm sure some theists don't really believe a lot of what they say they believe. It's just emotionally comforting, and they don't want to think about it too hard. When it comes down to it, some people prefer what is comfortable to what is true.

I'm not "excusing" absurd beliefs, I'm just explaining why they don't automatically make someone crazy. There's not necessarily anything fundamentally wrong with their brain. In most cases, there won't be. It's just one specific area that has been corrupted. This is a journey of understanding I've been on since I joined this forum. When I first started, I felt the same as you. I'll still stand up and say these beliefs are ridiculous and potentially harmful, but I won't write a person off for having them.