I've encountered many people who consider a godless universe to be extremely scary, to the point where they refuse to give up theism despite their doubts.

These people probably don't see clearly enough to characterize their state of mind as being scared of reality as it is. They are instead scared of reality as it appears to them, perhaps through the lens of finding contrasting features to what they perceive as distinguishing the theistic worldview. To the extent the difference is significant, you haven't expressed a disagreement with me, as you are talking about a different claim.