Fantasy is the Only Refuge from Mortality.

I don't know whom you're trying to impress, but when I started college 40 years ago, one of the first things my Freshman English Comp textbook said was, "Throw away that damn Thesaurus!"

And I feel sorry for you Atheists. When they lay you out at the end, you'll be all dressed up with no place to go.

It's more like "Fantasy is the only refuge from reality." Whether a child or adult, the activity of dreaming, daydreaming, fantasizing, etc creates an alternate universe or even time travel, a virtual existence where we have the lifestyle currently desired rather than the (actual/literal) one seen before us. Generally, this behavior is positive, offering motivation and allowing a sort of mental reset. However, indeed, sometimes a person's mind improperly intertwines or swaps the two worlds, which may cause an incorrect perception on actions, namely the result or consequences.

Put simply, there's absolutely nothing troublesome or embarrassing about fantasizing to anyone as long as the act remains harmless to you and others.

In regard to the escape from mortality, i.e., the denial of actual death, many do expect and envision some kind of afterlife, e.g., Heaven, but that's a bit different from the virtual world portrayed in a story such as BtT. Terabithia, and similar perception transformations, provide a means to enhance life, hopefully, permanently through attainment of that vision. In contrast, Heaven, for example, is the gift of a vague place of constant and eternal perfection in exchange for obedience. Basically, it entices people to complete several objectives and move on to this super happy place, which is why suicide is a sin.

In other words, a typical fantasy/dream is a self-constructed augmentation for personal betterment whereas the other, what you seem to be referring to, is just a diluted means of comfort and clever scam to get others to follow a certain leader's guidelines.

----------------------------
W-a-a-a!..W-a-a-a!..How do you like it?!?..W-a-a-a!

Wow. And I thought I overstuffed my sentences with complex vocabulary...

Anyway, I concur with what you've said. I think a person's imagination and creativity flourish when they're feeling inadequate and incomplete, but I don't think this applies to mainstream religion due to the fact that it's pervaded Western culture for centuries- most people who adhere to them now don't do so because they are imaginative, but because they have been brought up a certain way or have decided that there is a logical rationale to following whatever religion they believe in. Making up your own religion to help console yourself when times are tough would indicate a considerable measure of creativity, but following well-established religions, such as Christianity or Islam, requires faith but not innovation.

If God gives you lemons, make lemonade. If given melons, return them and tell God he needs glasses

May I interest this gentleman with my collection of fedoras?