These are tense times. Protests against the publication in Denmark and elsewhere of cartoons of the prophet Mohammed have spread worldwide and there will be more today. Meanwhile in Britain the government was defeated on parts of its bill to ban religious hatred, so that threatening language will be illegal, but insulting and abusive words won't be. None of this could have been predicted a mere twenty years ago. Most people thought Europe would become almost completely secular. Instead, religion has returned, centre stage.

How should we respond? Speaking personally, my mind goes back to childhood. I went to Christian schools. I was, then as now, a committed Jew. You would have thought that I would have felt awkward, embarrassed, isolated or made fun of because I was different. None of these things happened. Not once was I insulted or bullied or made to feel less than the Christian children. Years later, thinking back, I realised why.

The school took its faith seriously, and because they did, they took my faith seriously too. Knowing what faith meant to them they could understand what my faith meant to me.

That, it seems to me, is the challenge at the heart of our multifaith societies. Never before have we lived so closely with people whose cultures and sensitivities are so different from our own. It's as if the whole lexicon of anthropology has come to life and we're living in the middle of it. Many schools I visit have children from as many as forty or fifty different countries. And the children I meet have a wisdom that sometimes we adults lack. They feel enlarged, not threatened, by diversity. They know not to assault someone else's deeply held convictions. Like the Christians of my childhood, they know that each of us cares deeply about something but not the same thing; and they try to respect that fact.

Civilization needs civility. Judaism says that putting someone to shame is like bloodshed. At the end of every prayer we pray, we ask God to guard our tongue from evil. The only way to have both freedom of speech and freedom from religious hatred is to exercise restraint. Without that, we can have one freedom or the other but not both.

Law alone won't solve the problem. The real question is: can we learn to respect what others hold holy? Can you respect my faith? Can I respect yours? These things can't be legislated, but they can be taught. Free speech is one thing; responsible speech another; and a free and gracious society needs both.

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