White Jesus

The Perpetuating Harm of Misrepresentation

The first traces of stained glass were found in Northumbria, UK. Based on this location, you can probably guess that stained glass art was localized to a homogeneously white area. It is true that stained glass dates back as early as ancient Egypt, but the usage of stained glass was popularized in churches. I don't think any of my readers are surprised that those artisans didn't read up on the DEI handbook, and all of us can understand how, in those places, Jesus was depicted as white culturally.

Knowing where these depictions were made, it is not surprising that Jesus is shown as white, even though Jesus was objectively not white. We can see this exact localization of imagery of Jesus across the globe. Mainline churches in America typically find the origins of their practices in European denominations, including how Jesus is portrayed. So what's the problem?

The problem is that to segregate churches, the concept of Jesus being white has historically been weaponized against people of color. In Richmond, for example, there is a large Episcopal church that "helped" the African American community to start their own church, and the results are still visible in that church today. The good news is that they are actively pursuing racial reconciliation and facing the embarrassing nature of their history, though the majority of their congregation remains white. The bad news is that if you're a woman of color and walk into the building for the first time, you will see a white male Rector with an illuminated, light-skinned Jesus in stained glass above him. How is she supposed to feel?

When people are marginalized like that, we call it "oppression squared." This woman doesn't see herself represented in the congregation or the rector, and even Jesus doesn't look like her. This concept is called intersectionality.

Intersectionality: A framework for understanding how several aspects of a person's identity (e.g., gender, race, class, sexuality) combine to create unique modes of discrimination and privilege.