Religion: Truth, or a Defense Mechanism?

Sigmund Freud theorized that people used natural emotional defense mechanisms to cope with difficult experiences in life, these mechanisms include denial, repression, projection, displacement, intellectualizing, rationalization, reaction formation, and sublimation. All of these mechanisms help people to cope, survive, or move past a difficult stage in life. Is there another mechanism to be added though, one that deals with one of the most fundamental crises which every single human being will face in their life time? I'm alluding of course to religion. I'm not denying any religion or saying that there is no god, or anything like that, I am however exploring the idea that religion may be necessary for an emotionally healthy human to exist. It is interesting after all that everywhere there are people there is a religion of some sort. Atheism is most popular in countries where there are other distractions to divert people's attention away from the most basic of human desires, the hunger for purpose. Religion explains all those unexplainable things, and for the most part gives even the most average, unremarkable person a sense of purpose, of value.
Religion it seems, true or not allows us to live, after all, if there was no god, or at least if we didn't believe in a god, what reason would any of us have to live? All of us common, unrecognized, people, whose presence may never even be known or cared for by the world as a whole; would have nothing to live for. As Shakespeare said, "Ti's nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?" Why should we suffer the pains of daily life if all that awaits us at life's end is but an un-waking sleep? Religion spares us that painful pondering, and affords us a reward, a goal, a purpose to exist. The idea that there is more to life than just what is experienced is infinitely powerful in killing the pains of life. TO be able to say, "yes its bad now, but things will get better," or "I will be rewarded for my suffering," these phrases give us hope, and a reason to continue to live, without a religion or at least the concept of it, we would be devoured by our own thoughts. Our primal urges would run wild, while conflicting with our intellectual inclinations, destroying us from within. We would want to live for each day, but be crushed by our own meaningless, and eventually come to realize what good is even the greatest euphoric experience, if every sensation will soon end, and all that we've done will count for nothing.
So this begs the question, is our tendency to lean on religion actually a defense mechanism, or a natural tendency to search for truth, and possibly come to know and love our creator, creators, or spiritual superiors? If any of the religions are in fact true then our habit of depending on, or searching for the defined supreme being, or state of being, is just as natural as depending on one's mother at birth. On the other hand if this life is all that we have, and we are actually only over analytical animals, who have no real right to rule the world as we do, then life is futile, and our very existence is a burden to all life on our planet. If that were the case we still could have purpose, of our own manufactured nature, to enhance all life, and prolong our planet so that we may live as long as possible, since that would be all we could gain in existence anyway.
TO sum up I'll spare you any more of my moderately depressing wonderings, and propose an idea of mine to relieve and hopefully uplift you. I believe that in truth God does exist. It is actually an undeniable fact. Philosophers before me have attempted to prove such a fact using dizzying logic, and calculated statements, however I believe it is much simpler. One of the few absolutes in this world is that something is absolute, or it is not. Since nothing can be almost absolute, and be considered absolute. Therefore God can either exist, or he can not. Likewise if we are God's creations we can also either exist or not exist. Assuming that we do exist, and anything that is created by God, or even by us also exists, then God absolutely exists. This is because even if God is not real, and is merely a thought shared by many people, that thought is a creation, and that which is created must exist. Whether God is actually God or just a creation of the mind also does not diminish his good. Love is also a shared thought, people believe in it, appreciate it, and benefit from it, just as people benefit from believing in God.
What troubles people I believe is when they become confused about whose God is the right one, and attempt to force theirs on others. God ultimately is good, otherwise there would be no point for he/ she or it to exist, so no religion can argue that their God is more good. To force anything on a person not desiring that thing is universally bad in fact, and would not be something a just and good God would desire. Also a universally good God would not punish people on a technicality for not finding him in the right manner.
Religion therefore whether a defense mechanism, or a search for truth should not cause different people to conflict with each other. Religions are all searching for the same thing, and should embrace other ideas which may help us understand our God or an ultimate good. Either way it gives us purpose, no religion, if true can deny that all humans are creations, or servants of the religion's deity, and to harm a fellow creation, or servant is harmful to that god, but enhancing the lives of others, so that they may worship better, or experience the best existence possible, can not be considered bad within any religion.
My conclusion, religion, no matter what it is, or what is true about it, if pure, and understood properly is a universal good. If people of all religions would practice them as they believe, but embrace others in the same search, but using a different religion to do so, we may either come to find the ultimate truth in existence, or at the very least come together is we should as human beings.