For many, faith in God rises with age

[handmade34]

70. In my 60 years...

I have plenty of reasons to respect differences... (but I do understand what many of us have had to tolerate from religious zealots - but that is not what we are talking about here)

You say, “Belief in the supernatural is totally without basis or merit"
“Religious” belief is what Joseph Campbell explained as “masks of the…truth which is unknowable”

I love science and I respect empirical proof… and I also respect that there are some things that people still cannot comprehend. I don’t think it is our place to respect or disrespect the belief itself because it is an intimate personal experience; it is the person’s actions we react to. It is not our place to judge what others think or do in their private space (unless it is an acceptable open-minded discussion between persons).

If, that belief manifests itself into actions that affect us, then we have the option to speak out or make a judgment (and there you would be justified). I think the concern here is that you cannot really separate the belief from the person that holds that belief (assuming that it is a personal held belief).