It has been rightly said that science shapes life. Life, in its broadest sense, includes the culture and religion of man too. As man's knowledge level improves , so does his overall understanding of natural phenomena around him. Man has always strived to make sense of the world around him. The early man, no wonder, ascribed all natural phenomena to mysterious forces calling them spirits or gods.

Quite naturally, there were a multiplicity of such spirits visualised by the early Man - viz. the tree god, the river god, the rain god, etc. As the early man was helpless and unable to understand or controll the various natural forces, he developed elaborate rites and rituals to please the various gods which , over a period of time, got institutionalised as the religion of the community at large. A miniscule portion of the community who were vocal and influential class, emerged as the priestly class who were able to pass themselves off before the community at large, as the intermediary between the gods and the community, supposedly able to communicate the wishes and the prayers of individuals to the gods. This class became the priestly class. In most cases, these priestly classes also weilded political power either directly or by their strong influence on the community head (headman of the tribe). Communities living in geographically far flung areas evolved into autonomous tribes having their own brand of gods, own brands of rituals and religion.
Almost all prophets of the mediaval and pre-mediaval times were illiterate ignoramouses filled with megalomanic egos which was fed by the mass hysteria pandering to their supposed direct links with the divine entities. Common man was ignorant and hence was in bondage.
Some of the prophets or the seers were saintly, large-hearted and philonthrophic at large to the extent that they felt love for the whole humane community at large. However, some prophets, could not feel this sort of universal love for the entire human community; rather their love was limited only to their own tribal community or to those other tribal communities who coud subjugate themselves to the supremacy of the prophet and to his commands.

Today the advent of science has made it possible for man to understand the deepest mysteries of nature. By knowing the very deepest of the secrets of nature, man has virtually become the master. Every man is free today exactly to the extent of his level of comprehension about the forces of nature. Today man's awareness has virtually made him experience the oneness of the common universal sentient being pervading one and all.
We need not worry. A religion will soon evolve; and this will be possible not inspite of, but because of science. The ultimate shape that this religion will take will take time. It will be evolutionarily stable and sustainable. It will not be centered around a hypothetical "all-knowing-and ever-busy-keeping-account-of-all-individuals"- type god sitting somewhere far from all of us; rather it will be centered around a secular collective conscience based on rational thinking and on the golden principle.