Then you have answered the question. If you have been asked to look at two short extracts and comment on how their setting is important as opening to novels, then comment on that. You said you were given two extracts, not full texts, so I understand the task is to focus on the two extracts, rather than what your friends suggest. Also, in RC, the relationship between the individual and his environment, how RC struggles to build a world in unfamiliar territory, strikes me as a more important theme than religion.
The setting is where the book is set, and you say that you have looked at the description of the surroundings, so you have done what was asked.
PS, feel free to put your text up here or send it to me through private message if you want me to look at what you've done.
