Life on other planets is the secular humanists' substitute for God. It's an article of their faith that it must be there, whether they have any evidence for it or not.
Armed with the belief that life came into existence on its own here on earth then it must’ve came into existence everywhere OR maybe life on earth came from Mars.
Evidence? That’s on Mars!
I have $100 that says we will find at least microbes on Mars. Any takers? I have made this bet with several people here on FR.
There is already a lot of evidence that there is life on Mars, e.g., rocks that turn green (lichens?) in Summer and brown in Winter. The Allen Hills meteorite had clear evidence, i.e., nanofossils, in its interior. Those nanofossils are almost identical to certain Earth microbes.
BTW, how is this a religious issue? There are a lot of things in science that are not addressed in the Bible.
So tell me something. Where in the Bible does it say anything about life on Mars either way? And if they find some bacteria or something how is that a secular substitute for God?
Your "God" is a substitute for rational thought and ordinary human decency.
The other reason is to avoid the loneliness.