Fear is unfortunately a powerful motivator. I remember two of my kids coming home and telling me that friends had told them that because they didn't go to church and believe in God that they were going to he!!. They were all baptized....in my late 30's I stopped taking them. Their Dad was Catholic and never went to church. What a memory.
A certain preacher from a certain religion said I was going to hell. I wasn't the only one he chose for that distinction however.