Thank you for that excellent synopsis of the clash of science and religion. At its heart is the fear of religionists who desire a solid, knowable, unchangeable view of reality vs the scientists whose premise is to allow for flexibility and open-mindedness in order to get closer to the truth.
Most of my friends and relatives are believers. They receive much comfort from the fiction that there is an omnipotent being who watches and guides their every move, and whose motivations they know with certainty. Many are frankly afraid of a world without a god. So afraid, they will fight and kill to preserve the fantasy.