I think the "fear of dealth" is more akin to the denial of death. And yes, I borrow heavily from the book by Becker and this is a simple copy-cat here. However, from a Christian perspective, it looks to me that if one does not believe in God, then what remains is rather dusty, dirty, and just sand, hence the fear of death makes perfect sense. Plug in the concept of God, then we transcend our inevitable return to dust. Is that "a" reason to believe in God? Probably not ... but it help explains the fear so to speak. And, I hope you reflect and return to the Church, and it does not absolutely have to be a R.C. Church, but any Church that worships Jesus.