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But if these people are that dedicated to their faith, if they are willing to give up personal freedoms, their time, their money, pride, friends, family…  If they’re willing to do all of that for their faith then they must really believe it.

I have some overlap with your experience, but what you describe sounds more like the extremes that I see in media, social or otherwise. They are the minority that have a bigger bull horn. The average church goer though, I think goes because that’s where it’s safe to discuss and contribute to social actions. If you are interested in participating in charity, beyond just writing checks, you don’t have that many choices. You can pick one and deal with whatever politics are there and try to fit in to whatever social functions they have, if any, or you can join a church that has a goal of trying to be welcoming to a variety of people. You can choose from a range of actions and levels of participation.

I more frequently here God and Jesus getting a mere nod, as some distant source of inspiration, not as the central reason for the time and effort.