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I echo what's been said about people wanting to be right. An opposing view challenges one's conviction that your own viewpoint is the unadulterated truth. I think we as humans tend to have a pretty low tolerance for ambiguity and paradox, and don't like to hang out in the gray area that says "I don't know". So we tend to choose up sides and defend them against attack, or even against the existence of alternatives, even when being open to learning from people with other views would be more productive. I think this is at the root of most of the arguments over in Tilted Politics, as well. Politics is at least 9/10 ideology, almost to the point where liberalism and conservatism have become their own little pseudo-religions. People (and I include myself here) tend to be less interested in what's true or what's effective and more interested in what reinforces their existing view of the world.
I also agree that many people simply find religion fascinating and simply want to discuss it (not necessarily argue about it). We have questions about death and the afterlife, cosmic judgment, what defines living a good life, etc., and people have always looked to religion for answers. Even if I don't necessarily believe all (or any) of what one religion or another has to say about these issues, I still find it fascinating.
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"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."
- Anatole France
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