fundamentalism itself had a built-in mechanism that limited social outreach—the attention to conversion rather than amelioration of social ills meant that, once fundamentalists saw a group as being squarely in the “saved” column, they were less likely to work to assist that group in any social and political challenges they faced. In short, in their expectations of Christ’s imminent return, they did little to improve the social problems of their day, including those of racial segregation and discrimination.
