Exactly; a lot of the things we hold dear to ourselves, things we could die for are just illusions we made ourselves or the ones we believed from the stories they told us.
Interesting is the fact that this can go a long way to determine the course of one's existence.
And just like you said, reflecting on this would raise a lot of questions about religion, culture, personal beliefs and values. Stories and perception can go a long way to determine the course of history or change the course of history.