You encounter these secular people all the time, especially in the age of politics and everyone having an opinion (particularly painful when it is women and based on jobs they have, pensions, etc). It really was stark during the covscam nonsense; the really fearful, political and secular people exposed themselves. As you age you find that your past of harmony and nostalgia, and respect for elders was easier, and everything is harder now. Yes, it's a test, but it also shows you how foolish the things of this world are, and the base frailty of people, really is.