Not really, usually it's because they've attached their beliefs to their identity, and because the only god any theist truly follows is their own ego. They just personify it and aren't aware of what they're doing. This is why they get so offended if you question or insult their religion. Because they're one and the same.

What you're describing are theists' misguided ideas of why they believe what they do. I mean I'm sure a few people might believe because they're afraid of death, but mostly I think people fear death because of religion and just assume that's the reason because they aren't self-aware enough to figure out they only believe because they were indoctrinated when they were gullible. Just like some theists use their holy book as "evidence" and kid themselves that it's convincing, when they disregard all other holy books and then can't come up with a valid distinction as to why the two books are different, proving that they're not convinced by their own argument at all.