Morton's Fork (atheist, reincarnation, contradictions, believe)

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A Morton's Fork is when two apparent contradictions lead to the same conclusion. Wiki calls it "specious" reasoning, but as long as it is set up correctly, I don't buy that.

For instance, we routinely have the corn lobby claim that HFCS is not bad for you.

We can assume they are lying/wrong. In which case it may be a toxin on the body and I will not use it.

We can assume they are telling the truth. However, no amount of spin can convince me that a chemical that has not existed in nature for thousands of years has any healthy benefits. So if it is not healthy or unhealthy, this leads to the conclusion it is just filler. Since filler is empty calories, it doesn't add anything so I will not use it.

The same is true of other substances that one party declares as junk food, and another denies it. Either claim is equally true or false (yay, Schrodinger too) but the result is exactly the same, I have no need of it (except in either case if I'm binge eating of something).

Let's apply this to religion. Interestingly, we can apply this to both atheism, and to theism.

Theism first. Let's assume atheism says you have no afterlife. Theism says there is. In either case, it would be safer for an atheist to follow some precepts of the religion in question, on the chance they are wrong? Well, I assume, wrong and snuffed out is the same as right and snuffed out. But if there is a chance of not being snuffed out... mmmm, my thinking is theistic probably.

Now atheism. Suppose theists are wrong, and there is no afterlife. It would stand to reason that the best thing to do then is live one's life to the fullest. In the other case, suppose they are right, and there is an afterlife. We know basic moral standards from where religion jives together, but other belief sets seem to be all over the place, making there no consistent moral guideline. Supposing there is an afterlife, you probably don't get do-overs if you mess up, there are multiple paths, leading effectively to the same conclusion. You have to live your life to the fullest because you have one chance (aside from reincarnation, and even that you can screw up), and too many different voices to make you anything other than confused and unhappy. You have to live as if this is your only chance.

Which leads to a larger Morton's Fork. In either case, both atheism and theism are potentially flawed. One points to a reality where if you are wrong, you are singled out, because everyone else went somewhere. Theism, because it must depend on the necessity of taking almost exactly the same path to make the most of life. Correct me if there's a flaw in all this.

So which should you believe? I have no idea. Make a choice. Or do both (are they mutually exclusive)? I suppose it depends on your understanding of religion.