Personally, I think theism survives so tenaciously because it's much easier for most people to think about such mind-blowing questions as "why is there something instead of nothing?" or "how did my consciousness get here?" when they can reify the hard, abstract parts. And if reifying an abstraction is good & nobody ever points out to you that it's a fallacy, then why not go it one better & anthropomorphize it? If we are all here by accident why not just party on? Sex and drugs and rock & roll?
Because actions have consequences, and actions declare principles. What kind of world are you creating for you & your loved ones to live in by your actions, given that you're declaring that everyone else should act the same way in the same context as you're acting?
Jenny, theism survives because it is more rational. It requires much more faith -- not reason -- to be an atheist than to believe in a creator.
And don't discount personal experience. Many, many people -- including me -- have felt the touch of God.
You can claim we are delusional -- albeit rationalizing why us have done rather significant things after this conversion. Or you can accept that there is something to it.