Is arguing about what's rational or not about religion or deities worth losing relationships with friends and family over?
It depends. How extreme are they? If the other party is repeatedly "preaching" and pushing their imaginary god & screwed up beliefs at you and refuse to stop even after you've explained why you don't believe in their imaginary friend.... Then yeah, I'd drop them. Even if its a family member. It shows a complete lack of respect of you & your intelligence. If they can't respect that your an adult who is smart enough to come to your own conclusions then they are just a brainwashed zombie. I have dropped family & friends who just wanted to argue about religion all the time, or who repeatedly preached to me/invited me to church after they knew my stance. I don't mind explaing to friends & family about my views but I refuse to sit an argue about it. I'll just walk away.
Some people are simply uninformed. If no one takes the time to talk to them about logic and reason, they might feel like they are the only one that feels that way. Give people the benefit of the doubt at least at first.
On the other hand, sometimes you cannot take anymore of that sort of BS and you need to move on. Cut your losses and sever your ties. Use your best judgment.
There is only a certain amount of stupic that can be tolerated. When I found out my old roommate was a creationist, she told me the earth was 4000 years old, dinosaurs were fake, and science is a conspiracy. I stopped coming out of my room and found a new place.
I find I can’t respect people who are so closed minded. This leads to me not wanting to be around them.
Damn, that's hardcore! Even the Creation Museum (which I am embarrassed to say is in my home state) acknowledges the existence of dinosaurs, just that it was 6000 years ago, and they cavorted around with humans.