RNS Morning Report: Synagogue security; Parliament of Religions; Young evangelicals speak

Sylvan and Bernice Simon were killed in the Oct. 27, 2018, shootings at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. RNS photo by Yonat Shimron

Need to know: Friday, November 2, 2018

Saying goodbye to couple who were married and massacred at Tree of Life

Sylvan and Bernice Simon were planning to return home from Tree of Life synagogue to get ready for their daughter’s birthday.

In the wake of Pittsburgh, houses of worship ask how much security is enough

"I’m tired of being afraid to go to synagogue," one worshipper said.

This week’s parliament of religions is more than a big ‘pat on the back’ for faith

The gathering of some 8,000 people in Toronto will focus on ways religion "has been used to support genocide, wars, persecution and injustice," says one organizer.

‘God is going to have to forgive me’: Young evangelicals speak out

Six young evangelicals, all deeply involved in their churches, offer the textured sound of the rising evangelical voice in America, one that is often drowned out by white elders.

Trump: Nobody’s done more for religion than I have

The president said evangelicals would come through for him in the midterms "because nobody’s done more for Christians or evangelicals or, frankly, religion than I have."

Latest news from RNS

Cameroon clergy condemn killing of American missionary

Charles Wesco, a clergyman from Indiana, died barely two weeks after arriving in the country, allegedly caught in crossfire between rebels and government soldiers.

Asia Bibi acquitted of blasphemy in Pakistan, freed from death row

Hard-line Islamic clerics are furious that the Christian mother who allegedly blasphemed against the Prophet Muhammad was acquitted after spending years on death row.

Jewish groups decry Messianic Jewish rabbi’s prayer at Pence rally

"A basic tenet of Jewish faith, no matter what stream you come from, is that it does not accept that Jesus is the Messiah. Period. The end," a top rabbi explained.

More views from RNS

Christians can’t allow the Bible Belt to be the ‘death belt’

(RNS) — Would Tennessee's governor allow a man to be executed this week if he were to come to Friday prayers on death row?

He’s not a rabbi, and it’s not Judaism

What happened in Pittsburgh was anti-Semitic. What happened in Michigan was anti-Judaism.

The Pittsburgh massacre was about refugees

That fact should not be elided.

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