Bee -

"Aren't we human animals, interacting with our brains and bodies and our vast environment, engaged in the expression of vision and imagination?"

I think that's one area where 'religionists' tend to differ. They see the human as an animal on one level, it's true: we inhabit physical bodies that have similar needs to animals: the need to feed, reproduce, stay protected from the enviornment etc., and these needs generate impulses that govern many of our actions. But they also view humans as being something a bit different to all other animals as well, being able to transcend all these physical imperatives (i.e to voluntarily abstain from food even when hungry: hunger strikes, shaolin monks, the saints.. no animal voluntarily starves itself for any end, even a higher one / to voluntarily choose a life of celibacy etc., etc.,)

Humans also seem to be the only creature capable of self-reflection, who asks 'who am I, what am I and where am I going?" (it's not clear if animals do this, but there doesn't seem to be any evidence of this. By way of one small example, animals tend to be deeply conservative and stick within their prescribed roles for life - as do many humans, I admit! - but the important thing is that many humans do not) A good book that looks at some of the nature of animals is "The Life of Pi" by yann Martel. He seems to understand them as well as anyone, and talking to a friend who worked in a zoo for several years, his observations seem spot-on.

Humans have developed culture, history, created mass societies, changed their enviornemnt in radical ways and adapted to every climate in ways animals have not done, etc., etc., It is clear we are like animals in some ways (especially when we get drunk and let ourselves down ;-0) but we are also capable of being something far more.