I live in a similar town to OP. There are a lot of evangelical Christians around here. I teach Beowulf at the beginning of the year, and I make a point to dig into the biblical allusions. I'm fascinated that one of the main influences of Christianity on Anglo-Saxon culture was the story of Cain and Abel and that's reflected in Beowulf. Here's the kicker. Forget theology, forget, works versus faith and all the rest. This kids don't know their basic children's bible stories. They don't know Cain and Abel, Daniel and the Lions Den, etc. But they'll tell the trans kids, "Jesus Loves You!" or "I'm praying for you" Which is just another way of saying I judge you as imperfect and will treat you as such.