The natural inclination in all humans is to posit a force, a spirit, outside of us. That tendency toward superstitious magical thinking is just built into our nature.
A Hubble Space Telescope photograph of the universe evokes far more awe for creation than light streaming through a stained glass window in a cathedral.
Being a skeptic just means being rational and empirical: thinking and seeing before believing.
Being deeply knowledgeable on one subject narrows one's focus and increases confidence, but it also blurs dissenting views until they are no longer visible, thereby transforming data collection into bias confirmation and morphing self-deception into self-assurance.
Either the soul survives death or it does not, and there is no scientific evidence that it does.
When alien abductees recount to me their stories, I do not deny that they had a real experience.