Trying to convince a religious person that their ideology is flawed is like trying to convince someone that their favorite favorite flavor of candy is not a good choice. It is all about what you were exposed to and how your neural network formed its pathways in reasoning after being indoctrinated. If they were trained as young children to think a certain way about god, they will do the same in their adulthood with every other line of thought. It doesn't help it is harder to learn new things when you are older. THAT is why it is like banging your head on a brick wall when dealing with idol worshipers.

I will say that those who have turned to atheism seemed to not have a full fledged bubble world, and those that did, seemed to come out of the haze due to a major life event that was beyond anything they were ever taught to deal with. I know there are other factors, but these seem to be a common theme in conversion stories.

Me, personally, I wasn't locked up tight in a little bubble of religious living. My parents didn't force me to learn about creationism. They actually embraced a lot of aspects of science. I had to watch a lot of Star Trek, was allowed to read whatever I wished since they never bothered to go with me to the library, and I was abused on every level possible as far as their parenting went. So even though we went to church 3 nights a week, they spoke the lord's name every chance they could invoke him, and the family therapist was religious based (flesh vs spirit b.s.), there were a lot of gaps. I think that is why I was open to walking away from it.

Basically, religious belief is an addiction and depending on HOW they got their addiction, and the environment they fostered it in. It is on the suffering individual to figure it out and get out. I understand the frustration though.

I think that your insight is on target. I was exposed to a lot of other faiths growing up, and more so as an adult. So, other people's beliefs never felt threatening to me. I haven't talked too much about how much my wife's 10 year old nephew's death affected me, but I was angry with God for a time, and that was about the same time I began to listen to skeptic podcasts. So, I can see the same themes in my deconversation that you mentioned. 

I care a lot for my Christian friends, and they're very logical people. But, hitting that same wall where logic doesn't matter to them gets so frustrating. I don't talk about religion anymore with my wife because she's so sure I'm wrong that there's no point to it.

I just wish that I knew one person in my daily life that didn't think I was crazy for not believing in magic. Thanks, for the response, Z. At least someone out there gets it.