At the very centre of religion is our fear of death. Religion makes the claim that without it, you will endure eternal torment in hell; with it, you have eternal bliss in heaven. If you buy into this story, then you will always live in fear: "did I make the right choice?" is the question that will keep you up at night. For myself, I'm a non-believer. I'm almost certain that when I close my eyes for the last time, I won't open them on any kind of afterlife. I will simply cease to be. When I was a believer, I was afraid of death and what it might hold for me. Now, I'm no longer afraid (though the dying process does scare the crap out of me). I hope you find the answers you need to this, but I guarantee you one thing above all else, you won't find those answers in religion.