Thank you for this interesting history and perspective.

I haven't spent much time thinking about White Jesus, but I have investigated the American messaging of the (imaginary) "War on Christmas," which I've also come to understand as grounded in white supremacy. White Americans like to imagine that their whiteness is endangered or under attack; for many, their concept of their own whiteness is tied to notions of a "white Christianity"; thus, when they claim that secular activists are imperiling their Christmas trees and their "Merry Christmas!" greeting, it has something to do with anxiety about whiteness. I see them as asserting the prerogative to use Christianity as a dominance tool even in contexts where they *admit* they're interacting with non-Christians. In other words, when the ask is, "Can you please be more inclusive about the holiday season?" the answer is, "No, because *time/space belongs to me* and my ownership claim of time/space is *backed by the reality of White Jesus.*" That's the connection I see between "War on Christmas" and "White Jesus."

Regarding White Jesus: We'll probably never know whether Jesus was a real historical person. I feel no personal stake in the answer to that historical question, nor is Jesus iconography *spiritually* important *to me* (as I'm an atheist Jew; I recognize that it's spiritually important to others). Nonetheless, it does matter to me how Christian iconography affects the wider culture and people's racial identities.