@RealEyesRealizeRealLies I think the answer to why they believe what they believe is that most people are born into a culture structured on a religion. Santa Claus, tree nymphs, the Great Pumpkin are all believable to a child that will accept whatever adult authorities tell them. Having established a foundation in one’s mental universe, any apparently contrary evidence has to be denied or risk the collapse of their archetype.
People whose lives are filled with suffering and are desperate for any reason to have hope, can be readily converted to a new or different religion that seems to offer an explanation for their misery and an escape from it. Those who disparage believing in what seems to them to be foolish at best and delusional at worst, might consider seeking ways to alleviate an emotional dependency on such notions.