Existing in a culture that has accepted a religion based on man's superiority over animals, both intellectually and emotionally, has led us to the conclusion that mankind alone is capable of thought, emotion, and intellect. Primitive cultures have and presently include a variety of animal species in their religious rights and ceremonies. With our scientific guidelines it has become abhorrent to suggest that an animal of any species may possess any human characteristics such as thought or feelings. And our present generations are even more confused having grown up with those stunningly beautiful Walt Disney epics that routinely give more than their fair share of human characteristics to animals. More recent study of higher animal species is revealing that perhaps there is more to the intellectual and emotional lives of these species than we had first estimated.
Man conceptualizes god in the image of man.
Whether Xenophanes met with controversy over his dog and pony statement, I'm not sure, but Charles Darwin certainly received his lumps. The scientific circles of the day were elated over Darwin's natural selection theories. The 'survival of the fittest' theory was a direct link to man's superiority over the natural world. That theory was a big hit. The popularity of Darwin diminished when he published The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.