Giving up on romance

[Angrboda]

I have been in many relationships over the years, and in only one did me and my partner see eye to eye on religion. It still didn't work out. I dated a muslim woman, but after a few discussions, it was clear it wouldn't work, obviously. From devout christian to non practicing jew, I've tried to find reason...alas, I have a very low tolerance for bullshit. It seems everyone around me, even very well educated people, are convinced of nonsense, like the apparent retrograde motion of mercury affects people on earth. I cannot lie to make things work. I am stuck. 

To concede on this matter would be to begin a lifelong masquerade from which there is no escape. 

I don't know if I even have a question here. I just need to talk to people who understand.

Is there any way to live honestly with people who believe insane, demonstrably false things?

I'm going to be brief and hope not to be misunderstood. That you have a low tolerance for bullshit is a you problem. That is a standard you have chosen, for others. I'm not going to debate the wisdom of that standard, but another person, who humbly accepts that we all have things that another might consider bullshit, don't get my panties in a bunch over someone else's bullshit. I don't hold them to a standard which requires a certain acceptable threshold of bull. So I doubt that I would be faced with the same issue as you. I have in the past, but as I get older I become more tolerant, accepting of differences, and less needful that myself and others live up to some specific standard, as that is a form of perfectionism. So maybe you might want to consider how your expectations, requirements, and standards conspire to create your situation. This is not to say that a person dragging along some bullshit wouldn't be considered undesirable for other reasons, such as shallowness or immaturity, but only that I would be less intolerant of a mere difference in terms of beliefs.