It's like I got it when my older sister started yelling me on a road trip, during a conversation about my new found atheism. "But I love my god!!!!"
It's like Dr Carl Sagan said, " Its not so much the belief as it is the "deep seated NEED to believe.

I have a dear friend who is in a really bad situation relationship wise. She is from China and hooked up with a friend of mine on an internet dating site. She is a really fun, active person. She came over here with her teen daughter and married, and for the first couple of years, they had a great time, even though the daughter had emotional issues. She did great in school (very bright) but was not happy with her new step father and life in general, to the point of needing professional help. Then after a couple of years of happiness, he had a serious stroke on a highway miles from medical care. The result is paralysis on his entire right side, and the general mental capacity of a mean three year old! She could have easily ran, she is quite capable of taking care of herself, but she chose to dedicate herself to taking care of him (I might mention that there is a 20 year age difference between them). Anyway, to relate this to the topic, she found a Chinese church here in Lancaster which she started attending I think just for the social aspect of being with people she could communicate in her own language, but found that the idea of an invisible friend and a better afterlife gave her comfort and helped her cope with the daily grind of dealing with her home situation. We kind of stopped talking for a few years because, obviously I am somewhat irreverent, and topics we used to talk about are now off limits. But she contacted me recently for some help and we are talking again. We started a discussion on spirits, since in February I had a heart failure and was technically dead for ten seconds. She told me that she had become a Christian because at some point in her indoctrination she had seen the “spirit” of Jesus, and she believed that all our spirits survive death. We had a very civil conversation, though I pointed out that people can be made to believe they see all kinds of things and wondered where all these spirits are living? But by the same token, given the way she is living, the delusion of rewards in an afterlife for doing the right thing in this one would certainly make it easier to not go completely out of your mind.

It has a lot to do with tradition within the family/group I believe, at least now a days within the USA. That and I was very sheltered growing up from the reality or truth of most things. I think that's why I didn't become an Athiest at an early age.

I kinda think of it like santa. Get the kids all hyped on it when there little. The adults don't really get a pass I lost my faith in humanity a while ago lol but some of us do figure it out and thank god for that lol

Yup

No, it is a conviction based on a false premise.