I do mean that science is a direct counter to religion and without having to treat it as a religion. But if anyone is treating science as a religion they don’t fundamentally understand science. The only way science can replace religion afaik is in the feeling of awe and wonder that it inspires. We have studies of that.

Science fundamentally doesn’t declare truth.

But it does, and it goes beyond that: it makes predictions. That’s the real power of science. Without having an accurate model of reality you can’t make an informed prediction, which means the majority of its proposals must be grounded in fundamental truths about the world. Also, don’t forget science is integrative unlike religion, meaning a lot of scientific principles in one area will inevitably pop up in other areas without conflict.

yet some people act as though it’s unquestionable and anything not scientifically proven isn’t true

I’ve yet to meet someone like that. Are you sure you’re not misinterpreting their stance? I can think of times when I was in that position and the other person thought I was being a scientific zealot simply because I wasn’t allowing them to use a weak justification for their point, which is fair if you’re claiming things without evidence.