Can You Ignore Religion?

I'm playing a game now and for the first time I didn't build shrines and get an early jump on Religion. In the past I've been "religious", pun intended" of getting messenger of the gods, tithe, and pagodas. I'm play Napoleon small map, going for a Dom victory. Still early Renaissance. I'm also on Prince so even though I'll most likely be OK, I'm trying to build good habits/strategies to be able to start playing some higher difficulties.

My question is, can you play a game and neglect religion? How can I expect this to come back and bite me later in the game?

Thanks.