There is no aspect of these two people that is not quite impressive . . . But they believe literalist stuff about religion and the Bible that I could not possibly believe, because I came from a completely different upbringing than they did. Their beliefs surprise me a bit...but don't trouble me.

This matches my experience of most people, including most Christians. Really nice people, running their lives in good ways. The reason I am still troubled by the literal Bible stuff is that here in the US they mostly vote for people who are trying to destroy our freedoms. Also, religious belief ends up getting treated as if it was as valid and as important to the rest of us as serious scholarship. I think that erodes the level and usefulness of a lot of public discussion.

LH, do have any idea how your friends feel about the separation of church and state? Or if their decisions about who to vote for are determined primarily by their religious beliefs?