How scared of life do you need to be before you invent a god to protect you?

Not very scared at all. People seek easy answers to the unknown.

Belief in a god probably goes back to times when people didn't understand how the seasons worked. And when winter came and the crops no longer grew, some sort of sacrifice would have been made to the sun, and then it came back and the crops grew. The people would have associated the sacrifice with the positive outcome, and they wouldn't have dared not do it again because they couldn't risk famine.

In time the sacrifice will have become more sophisticated, and perhaps the idea came about that the sun might be the gift of a god rather than the god itself. This might be a way, or similar to a way, that religion developed.

People would then have assumed that the laws that their ancestors devised came from the god, so the religion would have become even more sophisticated still, providing authority for the laws and fear of a vengeful god if laws were disobeyed, and the same fear would make others stone to death anyone who breached a law to avoid vengeance being visited on the whole community.

There are probably other elements, but it will have gone back to the dawn of civilisation.

And it's become institutionalised, and there are many religions, cults, sects and denominations (including "non-denominational", "not a religion but a personal relationship...", and many others). It's survived because it's become institutionalised, provides a living for some, and is deeply ingrained into traditions and into national, international or intra-national identities; that it's still survived is both puzzling and fascinating.

I don't think you have to be scared, I just think that you have to be in a position where you don't feel like you have control of your life, or that you have no purpose. When you're like that, then knowing that someone is in control or has a purpose for you (even if you don't know what it is) is comforting. People don't like that reasoning, but historically people who are oppressed or in incredibly poor, unhealthy, or suffer from any other condition that robs them of their sense of security tend to be much more religious. It's why you see religion become more popular in places or times where there's catastrophes, it's a way of adding that meaning to life or at least rationalizing that something bad has a good outcome (again, even if you don't know what it is).

its not about being scared its about understanding things

years ago if there was a storm the people believed the gods where angry at them sooner or later someone will pop up and say, oh i understand the gods they speak to me and you soon have a religion

they did not know any better but there is no excuse now

There has been "Gods" for many tho sands of years of Water,Fire,the Sun the Moon,a God up in the sky was fairly late on the scene.

I don't think its invention.but its a complex subject I don't pretend to really understand...

Primitive peoples were terrified of the world around them. Imagine if you had no understanding whatsoever of electricity, geology, meteorology, microbiology, etc. A bolt of lightning, a drought, an earthquake, or an epidemic would seem like a horror visited upon you by invisible, more powerful beings...

... and, thus, gods were born.

A lot.

Like those primitive cave dwellers exposed to the wild.

I don't know because I've never invented a god.

obviously pretty scared if people will look past obvious lies and contradictions to believe

God only knows.