As we approach the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the Jewish year, the events in America and Afghanistan still weigh heavily on our minds. We've gone through the stages of a bereavement: first shock, then disbelief, then anger, and now a deep sadness; for the thousands who died, and for a sense of security that has died also. And that will require, not only a diplomatic and military response, but a religious one as well.

Already we've seen the power of religion to express grief, bring comfort, and give hope. There were reports yesterday that in Britain and America, synagogues, churches and other places of worship have been fuller than usual as people seek the company of others and the prayers through which to express their thoughts.

But we've also seen the other face of faith, in the anger of those who committed these terrible deeds, apparently in the name of God. That has nothing to do with Islam, an ancient and honourable faith. It has everything to do with a certain mindset, to which any faith is vulnerable, that seeks to simplify the complexities of life. Religious fundamentalism is the attempt to impose a single truth on a plural world. And that can be deadly.

As a religious believer I have to face the fact that religion is not always a good thing. Usually it speaks to the best in us, but it can sometimes speak to the worst. Religion is like fire. It warms but it also burns. And we are the guardians of the flame.

The great faiths today face their deepest challenge since the wars of religion in the 16th and 17th centuries. Can the prophetic vision of peace prove stronger than the call to holy war? On thing is sure: if religion is not part of a solution, it will surely be part of the problem.

Yesterday, the pope, in his visit to Kazakhstan, spoke of the logic of love that could resolve conflict between the great faiths. And there's another idea, taken from the day of atonement: the logic of forgiveness. God, said the sages, forgives us for our sins against Him. But He does not, cannot, forgive us for our sins against people until they too have forgiven us. We can only make peace with God when we make peace with our fellow human beings. That's the great antidote to fundamentalism. God has given us many faiths, but only one world in which to learn to live together. And in this global age, it's getting smaller all the time.

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