In some respects, science has far surpassed religion in delivering awe. How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, "This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be even greater than we dreamed"? Instead they say, "No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way."
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.