Ok, re: OP . . . I'm an ex-theist. And please forgive if someone has already replied with a similar response, because I'm really short of time at the moment, so I haven't read it all!
I think that most theists cling to their "club" and their "belief" because they were raised in it. They have been conditioned from birth that THIS is the only true belief, and that they really shouldn't question it. Not only that, but they are surrounded by like-minded people. And they have not had enough contact with people who hold different beliefs to be curious about those beliefs - in fact, they are trained to dismiss those beliefs as wrong. (I once worked with a devout Christian who worked with a Buddhist, a Muslim, an Agnostic, and a Hindu. She claimed to love every one of them - "what a great team! We have such great people!". When I told her about a comparative religion discussion I had with a co-worker from Bangladesh, however, she was horrified. "You shouldn't talk about religion! He's not a Christian, he's not saved! It might make you curious about his beliefs, and he's deluded!". Wowza.) Just reading about "other" beliefs, for some of these people, is a dangerous path. It's a slippery slope. They might find other religions interesting, and that CANNOT HAPPEN. They'll go to hell.
--Fuzz
I think that most theists cling to their "club" and their "belief" because they were raised in it. They have been conditioned from birth that THIS is the only true belief, and that they really shouldn't question it. Not only that, but they are surrounded by like-minded people. And they have not had enough contact with people who hold different beliefs to be curious about those beliefs - in fact, they are trained to dismiss those beliefs as wrong. (I once worked with a devout Christian who worked with a Buddhist, a Muslim, an Agnostic, and a Hindu. She claimed to love every one of them - "what a great team! We have such great people!". When I told her about a comparative religion discussion I had with a co-worker from Bangladesh, however, she was horrified. "You shouldn't talk about religion! He's not a Christian, he's not saved! It might make you curious about his beliefs, and he's deluded!". Wowza.) Just reading about "other" beliefs, for some of these people, is a dangerous path. It's a slippery slope. They might find other religions interesting, and that CANNOT HAPPEN. They'll go to hell.
--Fuzz
"The family that prays together...is brainwashing their children."- Albert Einstein
