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Mosly it was ministries telling tales and attributing natural processes to (their) God, which we generally believed since we natually attribute anthropic qualities to things.
Once the laity learned to read and exchange information, the gig was up, but it didn't start bleeding out until the internet. And by then, the Jesus brand was repurposed to push the right of rich people to own property, rather than efforts to end poverty and hunger.
Which serves as evidence against a religion, if their symbols and scriptures are not immune to the efforts of propagandists to change their meaning.
I like to explain it as "The God of the Gaps". The idea that anything you don't understand you attribute to God's will. As scientific advances occur, the things you understand increase and the things you attribute to God become... smaller.
Which serves as evidence against a religion, if their symbols and scriptures are not immune to the efforts of propagandists to change their meaning.
Christianity and buddhism even had huge conclaves where they were doing just that. As a bonus on one of them original Santa Claus allegedly smashed the face of heretic bishop Arius.