Does Religion Establish Low Rates Of Death Anxiety?

The fear of death is often cited as one of the main motivations for religious belief. This school of thought has existed since the time of the ancient philosophers, with the Roman Lucretius (c. 99 BC – c. 55 BC) subversive statement that "fear was the first thing on Earth to make gods"1. Over the hundreds of years since, many notable scientists, psychologists and philosophers have reinforced the idea that religion stems out of a desire for immortality. Even Albert Einstein was a proponent of this theory, writing in his 1930 article Religion and Science, published in the New York Times, “With primitive man it is above all fear that evokes religious notions - fear of... death"2. The question then becomes do religious beliefs actually make death easier emotionally? Only recently has globalization given us the ability
The idea that religion helps death anxiety may still be true, but perhaps is balanced out by some sort of comfort that non religiosity brings. When someone passes away, most religious individuals believe they are “in a better place” and will see them again when they too die. It seems logical that this makes death easier, as it is not a final goodbye but a period of separation. Deeply religious individuals are also more likely to have friends and family that are also deeply religious, making the answer to whether or not the deceased individual is going to Heaven almost certainly yes in the mind of the griever, though there are, I’m sure, exceptions. Why, then, do secular individuals have no greater fear of death? For them, death is a final destination. One of the explanations is that the main thing that makes death scary it’s unknowable nature, so atheists, certain that there is absolutely nothing after death, have nothing to fear. It is also possible that people with little fear of death in the first place are simply less likely to be attracted to