At a hearing held on October 16, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) chair and several lawmakers jointly condemned the Chinese government’s recent large-scale crackdown on house churches. They urged the U.S. government to take action to secure the release of Pastor Ezra Mingri Jin and others imprisoned for practicing their faith.
The hearing, titled “State-Controlled Religion,” featured remarks from USCIRF Chair Vicky Hartzler, who declared that the Commission “condemns in the strongest terms the Chinese Communist Party’s repression of Christians.”
Senator James Risch noted that the CCP has intensified its control over religion in an effort to “eliminate all elements of faith that contradict its ideology.” He pointed out that Beijing Zion Church, one of China’s largest house church networks, recently saw multiple pastors and believers arrested, “showing that religious persecution is escalating.”
Senator Ted Budd said, “Religious freedom is a sacred right and a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. America’s leadership must continue to denounce persecution of Christians and other faith communities around the world.”
Representative James McGovern emphasized that freedom of thought and religion is a universal right protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adding that violations in China are “widespread and systemic.” He also underscored that the United States must defend religious freedom domestically in order to strengthen its moral authority on the global stage.
Representative John Moolenaar stated that the CCP is carrying out “the most systematic religious persecution since the Cultural Revolution,” adding that the policy of “Sinicization” of religion is essentially a form of suppression. “Pastors who refuse to join state-sanctioned churches are detained or disappear, churches are demolished, and believers are monitored,” he said. Moolenaar specifically mentioned, “Pastor Jin Mingri has family here in Washington, reminding us that the CCP’s war on faith crosses borders and affects our own friends and families.”
Former State Department official Robert Destro urged the U.S. to make religious freedom a core element of its foreign policy rather than a peripheral issue. “Human rights concerns should not be overshadowed by tariff or mineral negotiations,” he said, calling for flexible use of diplomatic, commercial, and educational tools to promote religious freedom.
Presbyterian pastor Corey Jackson testified that he founded the Luke Alliance after witnessing the persecution of Chinese Christians, aiming to support the church in China. He explained that unregistered churches in China are deemed illegal, with pastors and believers facing surveillance, harassment, and imprisonment. “Many are sentenced on charges such as ‘subverting state power’ or ‘illegal business operations,’” he said. Jackson noted that the arrest of Pastor Jin Mingri marked “one of the largest crackdowns on house churches in nearly 40 years,” urging the U.S. government to “maintain pressure on China and ensure religious freedom is included in trade and diplomatic discussions.”
In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. State Department continue to designate China as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. On September 26, 2025, the Commission also released a special report on “China’s Persecution of Religious Leaders,” documenting cases of imprisonment, enforced disappearance, and torture.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal body established under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor violations of freedom of religion or belief abroad and to make policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. Operating independently from the State Department, USCIRF seeks to advance global religious freedom in accordance with international standards.
Originally Published On Chinese Version of Gospel Herald.
