Yeah I actually cringed when reading that quote in the article. There are many options one can use to discuss secular ethics and she chose to avoid them all and write a misguided and irrational article.
I cringed too, but took solace in Sen's definition, which seems appropriate: As for any religious claim for the origin of "human rights," it's very much a chicken and egg question. I'm of the mind that we've invented God, in part, to justify that which we've deemed our "human rights."it is just a strong way of making a normative claim. So when someone says “health care is a right,” they are really saying in a stronger voice something like “health care is really important, everyone should have the freedom to access it..
I agree with those reasons but I would add to it; there is an innate spirituality that most people have. You feel it most often when you are face-to-face with the wonders of the natural world. Hiking in the mountains etc. Meditation can bring this about too. I feel like this is a uniquely human quality that comes when we are overwhelmed with awe for our natural world and the human condition. People feel the need to ascribe this to God, some people may call this feeling God. I have no problem with that. I have a major problem with the forming of a religion that is solely of human construct based around those things: explaining the natural world, the moral code and spirituality. Also, fear of death is certainly a reason people create religion/god. There are plenty of reasons people create God/religion.
Loneliness is probably an inevitable consequence of understanding. If you see what other people don't, it sets you apart. On the downside, it's common consequence of serious mental illness too. Buck up though -- I'm betting you're an instance of the former rather than the latter...