Religion, when you think about it, conflates empathy with adherence to religious dogma, and/or, takes the view that true empathy only comes from the indwelling holy spirit. The "fake empathy" an unbeliever sometimes exhibits is selfish and calculating, etc. Which circles back to the doctrine that outwardly doing good deeds doesn't "count" in god's eyes (is as filthy rags to him); you must do it for the "right" reasons and motivations and take no credit for being in any meaningful way the source of the impulse.

This is a major reason why I say fundamentalism is not about being good, but about being right.