@GracieGirl,
In my opinion being afraid of Hell is a terrible reason to join a religion. First of all is the contradiction of following a God of love because He might send to to a fiery torture. Second is the fact that even as a Christian you will never be sure you are the right kind of Christian. There are groups of Baptists (i.e. they are in the same denomination) that are each sure that the other group is going to Hell.
There are good things about religion. Religion tends to make strong communities. It can give you a sense of purpose and it can provide clear answers to moral problems. Of course you can have community purpose and moral clarity without religion, but in my experience religion makes these things easier.
Of course there are also some bad things about religion. In my experience, religion tends to give you a simplistic black and white view of the world that makes you feel comfortable, but it also closes your mind to ideas and experiences and even relationships.
The younger me would have thought that the older was going to Hell. But when I was deciding to leave Christianity, Hell had nothing to do with it.
As my experience grew my beliefs stopped making sense. I was taught by religion that homosexuals were miserable and since they were defying God were incapable of loving or being good people. Of course, when I met real people who happened to be gay, and they were loving decent people with good relationships it caused a problem. I reached a point where I couldn't make my beliefs fit reality without closing my mind more than I was comfortable doing.
When I considered the amount of life that religion stopped me from experiencing, in relationships and things to do and thoughts that also stopped making sense. One day I just said enough.
Losing a religious community was the hardest part for me in leaving religion. As far as beliefs, I figured that I had to be true to myself. If there is a loving God who wants me, She would be able to give me what I need to come back in a loving way without threat of torture.
My advice is that Hell should have absolutely nothing to do with your decision to be a part of a religion.
