I Quit: I'm not sure if the ones that stay in but don't believe it are gullible; maybe they just don't want to deal with the consequences of leaving or lack the courage take a stand.
Of course. It’s complicated, as I said in my earlier posts.
Nevertheless, I believe all of the things you wrote are true. They certainly are not mutually exclusive.
A person can be unwilling “to deal with the consequences of leaving [and] lack the courage take a stand” and be gullible insofar as they believe (and/or rationalize to themselves) that they don’t have a choice in the matter.
Not all chains are physical.
That being said, if someone accepts in full knowledge and commits to an inauthentic life—pretending to believe things they actually don’t—then they aren’t being gullible; they are being cowardly.