>Regardless of my own personal beliefs I think it’s important to recognize that this question of the primacy of mind or matter is in fact a question of belief as there is no way (as of yet) to conclusively dismiss either theory.

You can have an unintended experience that can jolt you out of your current beliefs. Isn't it what this article is about? A highly decorated astronaut, who had no such predilection to spirituality, yet an indescribable experience turned him towards it.

Or take Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) who was a Harvard professor of psychology, yet went on to become a baba because of the experiences he had on psilocybin, and the resolution he found for his own inner turmoil in Hinduism?

How do you explain that with the assertion you've made.

>This “problem” stands in reproach to the staunch materialist atheists who take such pride in being so purely logical and scientific (and by implication smarter & better). The simple fact is that their outlook is based on belief too.

The word you're looking for is "dogma". And yes, the materialist atheist are as dogmatic as the religious nuts when it comes to their vehemence. I should know, I was one of them.