There is a difference with arbitrary beliefs, like believing Coke tastes better than Pepsi, than with the cultural/religious beliefs of theists who have invested heavily in what they believe. Obviously the person who has more meaning invested in a belief than a person who believes but isn't invested can be more personally hurt by criticism of those beliefs.
No one has any control over what anyone else "believes in" or chooses to invest their time and effort in.
NOR SHOULD WE. What matters is whether or not their concept of reality would benefit us, if we could understand it, and how their behaviors (regardless of their beliefs) effect us. So again, I see not reason at all to be concerned with anyone else's 'beliefs', or for anyone else to be concerned with mine (or yours). And should I encounter anyone who is concerned with my 'beliefs' (I don't really have any) I would certainly ask them why. But no one ever is.
A Christian might believe that "Jesus saves" but not fervently, and after a week of debate has heard enough to agree the idea is absurd and not believable by a rational mind, and they reject the belief and seek some other truth.
That never happens. And even if it did, so what? Is this some kind of mind game we play with each other to prove who's mind is stronger than who's? Some sort of intellectual pissing contest, to feed our ego? I could find you ten people who claim that "Jesus saves", and every one of them would be saying it meaning ten very different things. Different things about what "Jesus" is, and what gets "saved", and how. So you win your verbal pissing contest, but what have you learned about how any of these people experience existence? Zippo. And what have they learned from you? Zippo.
BUT, you can walk away feeling all superior, and smarter than them, I guess.
What non-theists engage with the most in debate are people who are passionate believers. They are the ones who will keep debates alive that are way past the point of hope.
They give you a better pissing contest, I guess, sure. But you never actually win the game. And no one ever actually learns anything about how the other experiences the gift of being. ... But as long as that ego gets stroked ... who cares, right? (By the way, serving their ego is the reason they're trying to win the game, too.)
The "battle of beliefs" is nothing but a battle of egos. It has nothing to do with the pursuit of truth of knowledge.
