I disagree with your agreement. Davidson has never been as conservative as Furman. Davidson is a true liberal arts school. How many folks do you know who went to Davidson? I probably know 20-30. Definitely a small number compared to overall grad numbers but none of them has ever talked about it having a conservative or religious vibe.
South Carolina and especially the Greenville Spartanburg area is much more conservative overall than North Carolina. NC is purple, has a Democratic Governor. Charlotte is pretty liberal. Greenville is very conservative. It’s home to Bob Jones University after all.
Here’s an older thread on Furman: Predominantly conservative student body? - #6 by Picklenut6