Remembering the prisoners

President Donald Trump is facing renewed calls to push for the release of eight Zion Church leaders imprisoned in China. The leaders, along with Pastor Ezra Jin, were arrested in 2025 for operating an underground church because they refused to register the ministry with China’s system for controlling religious groups. They were then charged with running an illegal ­business and illegally spreading information online in connection with their work at the church.

After nearly nine months behind bars, authorities freed Jin this summer just weeks after Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in China. Following his release, Jin was flown to Los Angeles, where he reunited with his family for the first time in eight years. In a September post for The Free Press, Jin said the moment he truly felt free was when he embraced his family and held his youngest 1-month-old grandchild, who is named Ezra.

While Jin said he is grateful for his freedom, he urged Trump to advocate for a similar release of the eight still locked up. Jin asked Trump to raise their plight to Xi during the Chinese leader’s visit to the United States in late September. Trump should advocate for the end of religious persecution in China as raids and arrests at house churches continue across the country, Jin said.

Additionally, a bipartisan group of 10 U.S. senators made a similar request to Trump in a letter sent ahead of Xi’s visit. Led by Sens. Ted Budd, R-N.C., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., the lawmakers called on the U.S. to advocate for the release of those imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of religious belief. The senators highlighted other persecuted religious groups in China, including Tibetan Buddhists, Uyghur Muslims, and Falun Gong adherents.

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Mormon no more

A new study found that membership retention rates have steadily dropped for Mormons over the past two decades. The Pew Research Center released a major report on the Latter-day Saints this September based on interviews with nearly 900 former and current members. The number of Americans who were raised Mormon and continue to identify as such into adulthood has dropped 16% since 2007. The religion now reports a 54% retention rate, one of the lowest among major religious practices in the United States, including Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Protestantism. Around 1 in 10 Mormons who left the religion went on to identify as Protestant.

Meanwhile, the number of people converting to the LDS religion has held fairly steady since 2007. Around a quarter of total members are converts, with most coming from Christian traditions. While Mormons lean conservative in their political views, a growing percentage are expressing favorable views of homosexuality and abortion. —L.L.