Death Dynamics: Steve Jobs and Religion

While reading through the text of Steve Jobs' commencement speech at Stanford University, the idea of death and the religious perception of morality spoken through his third "story" enlightened my perception of the broad picture of life. In simplistic terms, Jobs spoke of the fragility of life and the ironic notion that many people seem to fail to understand that their lives are temporary.
No single person understands the fragile aspect that human life holds until we know of someone who has passed, or in Jobs' case, who has limited time left to live. It's an undeniable fact that our bodies will someday become one with the earth once again, however few manage to acknowledge it in their daily lives. We as a race seem to bypass the notion of "dust to dust" with the everyday challenges of life, no matter how bombarding certain religions seem to be with this concept.
This made me think of the religious aspect of humanity and how death/morality is intertwined with the everyday thought process. In Roman Catholicism for example, the image of Christ dying for people's sins, ensuring a pathway to heaven via confession, and the chance of landing in eternal damnation are prominent reminders of the message death brings to the table. Surely these themes, along with every other portrayal of death as a spiritual path to another place, would give people the perspective of dealing with the uncertainty of morality? Right?
To me, this is not the case. Unfortunately, most people need a wake up call to become intimate with the idea of death. Steve Jobs was diagnosed with cancer, which changed his perception on the fragile-ness of life. I've lost quite a few relatives and numerous pets over the course of my life, each instance begged me to understand the morality of all living things. I'm convinced that it is the circumstances and events in one's life that will provoke the idea of death and bring it to the forefront, rather than the sole abstract themes of modern religion present in today's society. Could there be a happy medium? I suppose (being a good Catholic I should say yes). But as of now I'm sticking with my aforementioned opinion.