". . . and if nothing else it gives the opportunity to express kindness, care, and active love for others."

These values are certainly not exclusive to any religion, they are important to any half-decent person regardless if they have faith or not. I believe people are good at heart; our primate instincts are a fine balance of close social and family bonding and often brutal violence and we've developed societies that can keep a lid on the worst excesses, channeling our more belligerent instincts into sports etc.

At the end of the day, compassion for all living beings is the the best we as individuals can achieve.