No, the reason is that humans are afraid of dying

Religion was invented when the first conman met the first fool.
Market Twain

and power...

I think there are too many varied reasons that people use religion or are used by it to explain simply.

Religion was initially begun to teach people how to behave to each other. That very quickly accelerated into a way to control a large group of people.

Control.

Simply put, religion is a business whose only purpose is provide employment for the clergy and support staff..

Were it not for the government sanctioned tax breaks I believe religion would go out of business very quickly.

In my opinion religious institutions should be taxed just like any other business.

Religion does not offer any meaningful education; religion is the perpetuation of a gross lie upon one's fellow human.

It's just another way of exploiting the natural fear of the unknown. For the leaders own lust for power.

What you describe is called philosophy.

Religion is merely supernatural philosophy.

In a word, CONTROL

I think the truest purpose - was convincing men to die willingly in warfare. The promise of a glorious afterlife was an effective incentive.

Religion was supposed to be an organized way to know god. The whole conformity thing was a way to keep people from being wild. Look at prisons, how they find Jesus and then become more moral. But religion CAN serve a good purpose, for people who lack organization in their lives. People aren't going to want to go to work and be a cog in the machine, if they know they are just putting a roof over their heads and it's not going to end. Being told if you suck it up while you're down here, you will be rewarded later, because God likes to see you suffer, was a way to keep the masses working for the elites.

There are two different questions here.

1. what was the purpose of the “founder” of the religion.
2. what are the purposes of the owners of the religion
   Then we might ask why do people chose to believe.

'The opium of the people"