The amazing death of my last spouse brought on unrealized ideas of death. One can think about it as much as one wants but until it happens one often hasn't a clue. It was not only her death but how she died so let me elaborate because it brought on so many emotions not just for me but also for this unique tight-knit community. She was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. It only affected her speech center so she had no other symptoms. She was from Iran and from a Moslem family. She was the only daughter with 4 brothers. Her mother fostered her questioning everything and from a very age she could not understand the hold of religion. That is until she saw what it did to her country (and is doing to ours). She was extremely rational (her motto was discipline first then love) and viewed death as a part of life. She sent out a message of no tears and no prayers and our house became a revolving door of visitors (and food). Her 3 children came from all over the US. It was almost impossible to comprehend that this person, so full of life, was dying. We are lucky in that in this state we have the death with dignity law and she signed up immediately. Our local doctor signed the papers and another local doctor (who strange as it seems appeared out of nowhere) co-signed them. The day the medications arrived she went into a comma and died with several hours. From the onset of her diagnosis to the end was barely 2 months. She willed her body to the local University and donated most of her things to the local domestic violence awareness program. There were over 120 at her memorial (it was summer so many were away on vacation). This incidence transformed myself and many others view of death and many others told me they never met anyone as brave as her. As I said she was an avowed atheist and not shy about telling others of her feelings. A lot of people got to see how an atheist can die.

I have been 'scolded' often by people because my mother and I speak about death quite openly. She's 75 now and it is a topic worth talking about. She has a few good years in her, thank her genes there, so it isn't a topic that is urgent, just inevitable. One of my older sisters (I have 3 sisters and 1 brother, all older) is terrified of her dying and seems to be pretty religious. (I honestly don't pay attention to that). Mom & I talk about things like what she wants to happen to her body after death, her living will, her desire for assisted suicide if the need arises, what she does not want and so on and so forth. Also things like - "I get that when you die, Mom!". I find that it is freeing - and it helps when the time does come to be more prepared for it. We aren't upset about the person dying so much as the fact that we will miss them - it really has nothing to do with them, but ourselves.
My dad died in 1990, 20 days before my 20th birthday on December 2nd. (notice some patterns there?) he was diagnosed with cancer in April and died in December, there wasn't a lot of time to prepare for it. I think if we had been as open and honest about death at that time his death would have been so much easier. But - I also was told that I was going to hell because I was sad he died but at the same time so glad he did because he was no longer suffering as he did with that terrible cancer.

In response to your post I find I must ask you, "are you an aethist? if you are do you think of death often? why do you suppose that you do? and finally, are you afraid of death?

Short response first: If you've invested a major portion of your life for the potential reward of a positive posthumous experience, you really want your bet to be validated in some way. Nothing tends to buzzkill heaven like seeing people walking around and having a good time without having made the same investment you have.

Rambling response: I'm going to discount the communist thing. This is not people making up their minds that there's no god; it's a replacement of a theist paradigm of social control with a non-theist one.
The morals issue is the big ticket item. In circumstances to complicated to explain fully, I've been involved in debate with xian scientific apologists. The morals question is a key component of the argument; without a single and universal moral code, refereed by a single judge, everyone could just go around killing, stealing, raping, double parking, littering, etc. Fortunately, this view is primarily held by, well, people who need validation that passing on that hotbod or hunk was worth it.

In other words, it's the leisure cruise effect. You spent $3,000 on a cruise; you ate way too much, you got seasick and threw it up, you got ripped off by the locals at each port, and your luggage went overboard. But when you talk about the cruise with your frends, it was the greatest thing in the world.