While I understand the aggressive anti religious sentiment I also emphasize with your beliefs so perhaps a different way of phrasing it:

The link to religion is not so much on right or wrong but accepting or not. I’d I understand your context than your church teaches accepting and empathy.

This is not a universal, objective “correct” thing! You, and me as well, feel these values as right and choose to defend them. But there’s no nature law enforcing this.

And now the opposite as true as well. By having a peer group which is self reinforcing people can come to the belief that there are people who are worth less. Or evil. Or dumb.

Now the step to fascism is only a small one: my nation is best, my leader is best, etc.

If belief gets strong enough than objective discussion can’t take place anymore - both for things that we connotate positive as well as negative.