Is religion just an escape from fear?

It's misguided to think religion is "JUST" any one thing. It's a very complex institution that serves a LOT of different needs for a wide variety of people.

LOL, no. You seem to assume that fear is the ONLY thing that motivates anyone. That's clearly absurd.

Love of rationality often drives lack of religion, or disbelief.

No YOU have decided to think of everything in terms of fear; that doesn't mean you're RIGHT. You didn't think it through at all.

Of course we don't WANT to cease to be. But you're just saying ANY conclusion we come to is out of FEAR only.

There's nothing at all silly about recognizing the FACT that some people believe in supernatural beings, and others don't and still others aren't sure. It's silly to deny it, or to pretend there's something wrong with having words to describe those various stances.

Not all Christians and Muslims are fear-based believers.

Moral awareness IS real. It has nothing to do with an imaginary Sky Bully. It's something humans are generally hard-wired to have. Or, at least, moral reasoning is something we're hard-wired to do. We are social critters, after all.

Good question - and we're not even the only creatures that feel fear! And yet, we're the only ones with organized religions (that we know of. For all we know, termites might worship some sort of termite... god... thing.).

So, if what some of the answerers here have said is true, why should a wild animal fear death?

I'm pretty sure that once they realized what was happening, the nonavian dinosaurs were afraid - they were no less mentally capable than wolves or horses, and those creatures know fear.

As for your actual question, I'm afraid the best answer I can offer is "likely."

There is a difference between spirituality and religion. Spirituality is the whole life of aperson lived in relationship with the transcendent. A person’s individual spirituality may or may not incorporate the rituals, practices, and beliefs of a particular religious group. However, for billions of people throughout the world, institutionalized religion provides the setting in which personalized spirituality is expressed and developed.

Religion acknowledges both the communal dimension of spirituality and the place of tradition of the spiritual journey. It provides a connection to the wisdom and richness of those who have gone before us. Religion enables the tradition to come alive in our own experience and it calls the faith community to apply the tradition to the needs and hopes of the present.

It may be for some, but Christ is the escape from sin.

Death is only feared because of the Judgement to come.

Moral awareness alone teaches there will be a reckoning for wrongdoing.

Only a fool has no fear of that.

in part it is an escape from fears in part it is fear being used as a form of social control.

to your furthermore, perhaps to some as some sort of rebellion but thats not the case for me

as for your disclaimer do you be live that gods exists

if no then you are an atheist by definition... i am an atheist in that i do not believe in gods at the same time i can be agnostic i could be wrong about my belief.

I perceive it as a mental refuge: placing all of one's insecurities in the belief that God will make everything turn out alright in the end.

No, because Christianity and Islam are fear-based religions, so if anything, they bring more fear into people's lives, along with more guilt and feelings of insufficiency and self-denial.

In a sense. It's an escape from the unknown and most people fear the unknown.

Organised religion seems to be a place for people who are unable to think for themselves and make thier own choices.

Religion is completely fear based...it isn't an escape from it because it's full of it!