Belief

"Every one should believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer." - - old joke

I was just doing some random web-page jumping and came upon this comment at the Institute for Humanist Studies site, here:

Several weeks ago, a ground-breaking study on religious belief and social well-being was published in the Journal of Religion & Society. Comparing 18 prosperous democracies from the U.S. to New Zealand, author Gregory S Paul quietly demolished the myth that faith strengthens society.

I found the comment hard to believe. Not to say that its wrong; I just found it hard to believe -- as hard to believe as the comments I've seen holding that there is not and will not be any fuel shortage; holding that Mel Gibson is right in holding that Israel is the source of all iniquity; holding that there was no airliner impact at the Pentagon, and that at least one of the twin towers was brought down by previously stored explosives. Many of these observations were on sites where the writing is cogent and the layout serene; they are not, in other words, obviously wild-eyed fanatics. But as soon as I hit a phrase that I don't agree with, I find myself hitting the button to go someplace else. I don't hang around to let them try and convince me, because obviously they're wrong in what they hold.

Which raises the question: am I simply dense/incorrigible, or are these people talking to just to the true believers and those on the periphery of that condition? Why, if they use reasoned words and mellow methods, don't they convince me, or at least raise the specter of doubt in my mind?