Man, like the animals, began with this deep, subconscious sense of unity with surrounding Nature. When this became (in Man) fairly conscious, it led to Magic and Totemism. More conscious, and it branched, on the one hand, into figures of Gods and definite forms of Creeds, on the other into elaborate Scientific Theories–the latter based on a strong INTELLECTUAL belief in Unity, but fervently denying any ‘anthropomorphic’ or ‘animistic’ SENSE of that unity. Finally, it seems that we are now on the edge of a further stage when the theories and the creeds, scientific and religious, are on the verge of collapsing, but in such a way as to leave the sense and the perception of Unity–the real content of the whole process–not only undestroyed, but immensely heightened and illuminated. Meanwhile the taboos–of which there remain some still, both religious and scientific–have been gradually breaking up and merging themselves into a reasonable and humane order of life and philosophy.
Edward Carpenter, Pagan & Christian Creeds: their origin and meaning, XVI. The Exodus of Christianity