Sagan lived in a world all his own, like so many compatriots in his field. He was guilty of the very thing of which he accused the religious. He made no more attempt to look beyond the most vocal of the those in Christianity who were antagonistic to science, than these religious folk did to look beyond the most vocal of anti-religion scientists.

Furthermore, Sagan appeared to be ignorant of the debt that he owed to generations of religious scientists who went before him. Even the big bang theory itself owes its existence to a Catholic priest. In his day, it was the scientific community who steadfastly clung to the steady state model, because universal expansion implied a singularity, which necessarily meant that the universe had a beginning.

Catholics, for one, marvel at the grandeur of creation. It is this awe of God inspired by nature which has enlivened Catholic scientists through the ages. And many other Christians are the same.