I don't think that religious belief has one single basis. It is the culmination of fear of death, the desire to belong, the wish to understand the universe, the desire for guidance, the desire to feel as though there is hope and many other factors.Nielk1 wrote:Plenty of people go through life thinking that when they die they are done. If people can cope with that, it's not a good explanation for the beliefs that build religion. The basis of such belief is probably something far more ingrained in our search for knowledge and understanding.
Many modern people can cope with fear of death. This is likely due to the fact that they don't live in constant fear of predators, disease or famine as their ancestors did. Death is not an overtly common theme in the lives of most people in developed countries. This also helps to explain the rise of Atheism and Agnosticism in the developed world - particularly in contrast to the developing world where religion is precisely the way it was a thousand years ago. They still need the comfort it can provide, whereas comfort exists 'in this life' in the developed world.