there’s entire swaths of the US where it can be dangerous to even believe otherwise because everyone around you has their beliefs so intertwined with beating their enemy (communists/the left/atheism, etc.) that at best, you will lose your family, your friends, all your support networks, and at worst, you’ll have the devil beaten out of you if you even entertain leaving.

If there's something that religion has refined more than anything else, it's giving people a 'group' to belong to that very easily erects a wall against anyone who isn't in the belief system. The mormons weaponize it, jehovah's witnesses use it as a ball-and-chain, the muslims use weapons (and honor killings) to enforce it, christians (in america) have the social groups that are only loosely tied to the church and should be completely independent wrapped in the silk of a few powerful members of both and use the soft power of withholding charity to keep people in, (zionist) jews have israel... it's all sickening.

That sucks… but you hit the nail on the head at the end. He doesn’t have much choice, he’s surrounded by it, marinated in it… it will always be easier to choose hate and ignorance. Understanding and compromising take work, MAGA lets you hate almost anything and still be welcomed.