You seem to sense essentialism is the real answer, that things have a nature and so will act according to that. Cats don’t bury bones and dogs don’t like cat food. But seeing a law and denying a lawgiver does seem okay to you. Maybe if we ourselves weren’t free and rational , we could be puzzled but even being puzzled points to a real answer , a rational answer.
While the practice of science is neutral, individual scientists often bring different perspectives to their work.
For some, exploring science is a way of understanding God’s creation. They might distinguish between scientific mechanisms and theological purpose. Others adhere to methodological naturalism. For them, science demonstrates that a creator is not necessary to explain existence.
However, the instrument being utilized to do science is the brain (mind would be politically incorrect), which functions basically the same way in all of us. If the brain is the end product of a mindless unguided process, can it be trusted? (Knowing that a computer is the product of a mindless unguided process, can IT be trusted?) If the answer is no, there’s a problem. Because scientists believe that the internal mind has access to the external natural world, a materialist stance undermines the trust in the rationality needed to do science.
Some modern pioneering scientists in the 16th and 17th centuries were believers in God . Most were Christians. Their belief in God didn’t hinder their science, it was the motor that drove it.