All the great world religions insist that every form of religiosity must lead to compassion. Fundamentalists often fail this test: they are so gripped by their fears of destruction that they often downplay those passages in their scriptures that speak of respect for the sacred rights of others and emphasize the more belligerent strains in their respective traditions. Hence, they fail religiously. But they are nevertheless a presence in our world. The fact that these groups have mushroomed spontaneously in a widespread rejection of the modern ethos is disturbing. Their ideologies reveal fears and anxieties that, as we now know to our cost, no society can safely ignore.