I'm not so sure I agree. I was in science for a time, and found few scientists to be truly devout. Most would probably say they were atheists, although a large minority would lay claim to a religion. However, neither side was really passionate about it.
The thing is, science is tough. The folks who do it for a living - genius though they may be - don't have a lot of brainpower left over for anything else.
Drew Garrett
I have found that most scientists today who are not devout will not be remembered for much of anything. They may technically be talented, they may put on a good show but their efforts will not attain historical status.
Science is tough. The overwhelming behavioral response is to evade this toughness by publishing anything that purports to further science. That is fair. However, that which is published will most often report some sort of postive spin on essentially what are failed experiments. The failures do not get reported. That puts pressure on scientists to embellish minor results. These embellishments lead to a culture of tolerated deceit.
In my experience, seminal papers are written by persons that have a high standard for the truth and that standard is formed under a pious environment. If truth be a parameter, such pious persons aim for the greatest accuracy with the least deviancy.
Truly great works of science are achieved by persons that constantly pray for God's guidance in directing a noble cause.