Nah it's religion. Power and the desire to preserve power is behind religion. Religion is just "you'd better d̶o̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶a̶y̶ do what god says (he said you should listen to me) or I̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶g̶r̶y̶ god will be really angry and punish you after you die!"

God never talks to anyone directly - there's always some human who conveniently relays god's message. Usually an authority figure, like a parent or a priest. It's just a tactic they use to reinforce their authority and help them control other people.