Programming with tabs is like a pain for me.
Right there, you answered your own question without even realizing you asked that question!
If programming with tabs is like pain for you, what happens if you pull a code file from a co worker, written with tabs, and need to work with that file together?
It's pain to you: for
technical, actual reasons: the fact you have learned to use spaces, like you learn to ride a bicycle, so tabs really work slower for you. Maybe the text editor of your choice works better with spaces, too.
So it's not a meaningless thing, nor it's a religious thing, but a practical, actual one.
For me, it's the opposite, I want the tabs, but the pain is exactly the same.
Of course, now the big decision part is, are you going to be an asshole and start fighting about it, or accept the different viewpoint, slowing down your workflow, or try to work out some compromise.
Many simply won't want to accept slowing down their work, because they think it is important. While a bit selfish, this is also natural and understandable.
Finally, the deciding factor again is, not religion, but actual engineering question: the choice of text editor and its configuration. It either makes or breaks the usage of spaces or tabs.
So sorry, I don't agree; this isn't a religious technical opinion, but an actual technical one. The fact that personal learning process is part of that technicality, and you could have ended up either way, does not make it religious.