human race is scared that after we pass, there is no afterlife and their existence was entirely meaningless

I agree with the overall concept that religions exploit people's psychology, but there's more than one way to do that. Not all religions even promise an afterlife. For example, Judaism instead it relies on a sense of membership in a group, and an obligation to uphold the group's traditions, in order to invest people in the religion. In the more intense orthodox versions they create an insular community and apply intense social pressure to conform, as well as an elaborate and Byzantine system of rules you have to follow for all your daily activities.