>"People sincerely worshipped Zeus for thousands of years. Do you believe in Zeus?"
Yes, I do. And here's why:
Zeus, and indeed, all deities - are psychological archetypes for personal self development; not supernatural beings. Hollywood has implanted many fairy tales into the minds of humanity and twisted their perception of reality. But when you peel away the multiple layers of illusion, you are left with the bare truth.
Jesus - as a human - may or may not have physically existed. Nobody can prove it either way, regardless of what they would like to believe. It is irrelevant. But that does not prevent people from "finding Jesus within" or truly achieving the "Christ consciousness", or connecting with the higher self.
Likewise, "occultists" are said to be able to summon demons to do their bidding. Aleister Crowley, through years of research, determined that the demons are not real in a physical sense, but summoned into one's mind and consciousness. Fighting demons and facing one's fears is key to personal development.
That doesn't mean that the bogeyman is sitting in your closet, although the bogeyman may be quite real to you.