The United States is demanding that China release Zhang Kai, a well-known Christian lawyer, as well as other religious figures who were detained last month.
Zhang has been advising churches in China's Zhejiang province that are resisting orders to remove crosses from church roofs.
Rabbi David Saperstein, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, said there is "no excuse" for the detentions.
He called the arrests "particularly alarming" since they happened while he was in China.
"These detentions fit into the disturbing pattern of state intimidation of public interest lawyers, Internet activists, journalists, religious leaders," Saperstein told reporters.
"They clearly underscore the precariousness of religious life in China," he said.
The U.S. demand comes ahead of a state visit to the United States this month by the Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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