The portrayal of Jesus as a white ... Sallman’s painting culminates a long tradition of white Europeans creating and disseminating pictures of Christ made in their own image.

A version of this story appeared in the July 10-23, 2020 print issue under the headline: Why white Jesus is a problem. Enter your email address and select any of the newsletters below.

Christena Cleveland spent much of her childhood in an evangelical church surrounded by traditional images of a porcelain-skinned and flaxen-haired Jesus. But one day she came across a portrayal of ...

In this picture, Jesus looks kind and gentle, he gazes down at me lovingly. He is also light-haired, blue-eyed, and very white ... role models in our media, why can't we do the same for faith?

In this picture, Jesus looks kind and gentle, he gazes down at me lovingly. He is also light-haired, blue-eyed and very white ... role models in our media, why can’t we do the same for faith?

In this picture, Jesus looks kind and gentle, he gazes down at me lovingly. He is also light-haired, blue-eyed, and very white ... role models in our media, why can’t we do the same for faith?