The Queen urged people to bridge the generation gap between the young and old in her annual Christmas broadcast.
She warned the pressures of modern life sometimes seemed to weaken family ties and that ignorance and misunderstanding led to the danger of a real divide opening up.
There was also a message of multi-faith tolerance in her speech.
For the first time in its history, the Christmas broadcast featured footage of Muslims praying in a mosque.
The Queen stressed it was easy to focus on the differences between religions rather than what they had in common.
People of different faiths were bound together by the need to help the young become considerate citizens and all religious communities encouraged the bridging of the generation gap, she said.
Images were shown of men kneeling and praying in the main hall of the London Central Mosque near Regent's Park in London during Friday prayers. The camera focused on a young Muslim boy, who raised his head to look around before returning to his prayers.
There were also scenes of the opening of Europe's largest Hindu temple the Shri Venkateswara (Balaji) in Tividale in Sandwell and from a Jewish reception at St James's Palace attended by the Queen and the Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks.
The Queen said in her message: "The pressures of modern life sometimes seem to be weakening the links which have traditionally kept us together as families and communities.
"As children grow up and develop their own sense of confidence and independence in the ever-changing technological environment, there is always the danger of a real divide opening up between young and old, based on unfamiliarity, ignorance or misunderstanding.
"It is worth bearing in mind that all of our faith communities encourage the bridging of that divide.
"The wisdom and experience of the great religions point to the need to nurture and guide the young, and to encourage respect for the elderly."
Once again, the Queen's message had a strong Christian framework, but she highlighted the similarities between all religions.
"It is very easy to concentrate on the differences between the religious faiths and to forget what they have in common - people of different faiths are bound together by the need to help the younger generation to become considerate and active citizens.
"And there is another cause for hope that we can do better in the future at bridging the generation gap.
"As older people remain more active for longer, the opportunities to look for new ways to bring young and old together are multiplying."
The Queen touched on her 80th birthday celebrations this year in the address, which was broadcast across the Commonwealth, thanking the public for their generous response.
She was also shown chatting informally to school-children at Southwark Cathedral in London as she helped them make a triptych collage of a nativity scene.
"What's the betting that all mine will fall off first?" the Queen asked them as she added a piece of mosaic to baby Jesus's halo.
Her message was filmed this year at Southwark Cathedral and the speech was available as a podcast for the first time this year, perhaps an example of how the monarch is trying to bridge the generation gap herself.
The link appeared on the monarchy's website under the grand title "The Royal Podcast".
