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Well, the way I look at it, there are different sorts of assumptions. I have many assumptions where I'm ready and willing to be proven wrong. These, in part, do inform my choice of a religion. But my choice of a religion influences these assumptions as well. An easy example would be the resurrection of the dead -- I have no real reason to believe that this happens, other than the fact that I'm a Christian, and it's more or less entailed by that. I'm sure there are examples of a more robust assumption that I've dropped because of Christianity, but I can't come up with one at the moment. But the point is that these sorts of assumptions are variable, and can be rather readily disproven.
But there are other assumptions I have that are very basic, and it's these that *really* influence my choice of religion. These would be things like the existence of evil or the necessity of grace. I don't want to say that these are not open to question, or that I couldn't be convinced I'm wrong. But someone trying to do that would have a long uphill row to hoe.
I should add that many, perhaps most, religious people don't describe it as 'choosing a religion', as if you were at a restaurant trying to decide between the beef or the fish. Most describe it as the religion choosing them. Having grown up Christian, it's probably not entirely accurate for me to describe myself as having chosen the religion. And I certainly can't describe it as Christianity finding me. The closest I can come is my experience in trying to find a church. The last two churches I've attended I've had the experience of feeling like I belonged in that church. Neither was what I thought I was looking for, but both were right for me -- probably better for me than whatever it was I thought I was looking for.
I guess that the point is, while I wouldn't want to ignore the intellectual component involved in the choice of a comprehensive world view, there's also an emotional component involved as well. Since we're both intellectual and emotional creatures, we shouldn't ignore the emotional side of our being.
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"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."
"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
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