A pre-civilized society might be one considered to be without a government. Civilizations tended to develop regular governance often with authoritarian rulers.

The paleolithic era and the development of fire was some tens of thousands of years before. remember the cave painting of Lascaux...I am sure fire was transportable before that.

The issue isn'twhat created societies; even wolves and lower forms of life have 'society', and humanity tended to form socially in warm areas where fires weren't of such importance as in the north. The issue was if religions aren't the best form of mass social non-governmental organization (they often pre-exist governments, or may develop alongside).

It is useful to consider the differences amidst egalitarian religions from the Abrahamic linneage versus some of the more royal Egytiaq or imperial sorts of religions.

Some primitive religions of the animist model could be shared by very uncivilized societies and create ties that bind beyond kinship groupings.

yes. Fire is what created societies. Grouping around it to keep warm.

Gary does it really matter who holds the whip? Would you sew the pink triangle on my shirt? How long do you think it will take before everyone who disagrees with the new (insert religion here) hierarchy is ruled a heretic. Please don’t give any theist an army.

Religion for instance was a revolution for-itself in providing transcendent, non-tribal social groupings. It is far easier to have a non-authoritarian social organization in a religious form than it is a government in more basic societies such as occurred in the Middle East and Islam. In pre-internet societies without a territorial evolution of democracy authoritarian governments are the simplest to expand over many peoples, while religion may be a more egalitarian force. Christianity is the ultimate egalitarian social organization humanity is likely to have-with individualism yet a unity through Jesus Christ, while Muhammedism was a half-effort militarily and religiously syncretistic offering a double barreled imperial rule in the Caliphates and Clerics. The Imams or group leaders were far less oppressive than Ottoman herders of people.

When Constantine moved the capitol of Imperial Rome east, Christians after a time inherited the social continuity guardian roles in the interregnum falling the decline of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of western civilization in Europe. Christianity became the primary transcendent social organization accompanying the rise of European nations and empires. Christian monasteries were repositories for learners and learning, literacy and philosophic thought before the reformation stimulated by religious and political dissent, as well as by the desire for Protestants to read the Bible in the vernacular rather than in Latin created a renaissance and reformation.

The renaissance of Europe was interestingly stimulated by Muslim challenges to the South and in Iberia as well as by Umayyad assaults even upon Rome as early as the 7th century, by a spiritual and philosophical battle between theologians such as Augustine and Arian, Mohammedans and ancient Greek philosophers, by learning and the desire for learning from a plethora of over-the-horizons of time and geography sources, and accreting northern military, feudal and physical structures in intense competition for survival while Mongol attacks as far as the Baltic Sea region near Novgorod stimulated an age of sea exploration.

Christianity was the transcending spiritual social element for the west that provided a common experience and bonding to a certain extent even amidst 'strange peoples'. Alternately the difficulties and differences various formed governments had in reconciling there own religious structures with foreign religious structures was notable. This may be an example of the role that politics and government have in ossifying and influencing religious structures and practices. Perhaps it is easier to practice true Christian faith in the absence of advanced government. Jesus was crucified by the 'prince of this world', while Muhammad sought to be the prince or Caesar/Imam.