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Reproduced from Pew Research Center; Chart: Axios visuals

Two-thirds of American churches delivered overtly political sermons or messages in the run-up to the 2020 election, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of online sermons.

Why it matters: Many clergy felt compelled to address the controversies dividing the country — and possibly their own congregations — at a time of turmoil.

By the numbers: Between Aug.31 and Nov. 8, 2020, two-thirds of churches posted at least one sermon or message about the 2020 election. The messages varied among Christian churches:

  • 48% of sermons mentioning the election in evangelical Protestant churches discussed specific issues, parties or candidates. Evangelical pastors were more than twice as likely as others to use the phrases "Satan," "hell" and "pray [for our] president."
  • Historically Black Protestant pastors were far more likely to encourage voting and turnout, and to reference voter suppression, more than other groups.

When discussing racism, evangelical pastors disproportionately leaned on phrases such as "racial tension." Evangelicals also used terms like "police officer," "crime" and "convict" around three times as often as others.

  • Pastors in mainline and historically Black Protestant congregations used terms like "anti-racism" and "white supremacist" when talking about racism.

Meanwhile, Catholic priests were least likely to discuss any of these topics during services.

Details: The analysis of 12,832 sermons, shared online by 2,143 churches (due to the pandemic), is not necessarily a representative sample of all sermons delivered across the country.

  • It provides a glimpse of the messages that churchgoers heard during a pivotal period for the U.S.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.