There's good news out there today: Americans are getting back into the Word of God.
The Wall Street Journal published a story on Sunday based on a book tracker called Circana BookScan. Their numbers show that through October of this year, the purchase of Bibles has jumped by 22%, fueled largely by first-time buyers.
The Journal documented how Bible-reading is becoming popular again, and some of it is coming from the most unlikely sources imaginable. Take Cely Vazquez, a participant in the steamy reality show Love Island, who recently posted on TikTok about buying a Bible for the first time.
I go to church every Sunday, I pray every day, I consider myself a religious person. And I have never purchased my own Bible or studied it or read it. And now at 28-years-old I've been finding myself having this deeper craving for really understanding what it means to walk with God and I think that definitely starts with reading and studying the Bible, so that's my next step. And it took me a while to get here, but I'm so happy that I'm here.
In the comments, Cely said she's starting by reading the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) that document the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In the celebrity world, more public figures have been outspoken about exploring what the Bible has to say. Tim Allen documented his first-ever read-through of the Bible as an adult, and Russell Brand was public about his baptism.
Worries about the economy, conflicts abroad and uncertainty over the election pushed readers toward the publication in droves. Bible sales are up 22% in the U.S. through the end of October, compared with the same period last year, according to book tracker Circana BookScan. By contrast, total U.S. print book sales were up less than 1% in that period.
The Bible is up big, even while books in general are holding steady. People are flocking to the Bible. And that's a good thing, as long as they read it.
However, there seems to be a lag in the research. As America is growing more secular, more people are buying Bibles, according to Pew.
The Pew Research Center found that about 28% of adults in the U.S. now consider themselves religiously unaffiliated. Yet Bible sales rose to 14.2 million in 2023 from 9.7 million in 2019, and hit 13.7 million in the first 10 months of this year. Readers are also stocking up on related titles that provide guidance, insights and context — even sets of stickers to flag particularly meaningful passages ...
Publishers say the books are selling well at religious bookstores, but also on Amazon.com and at more mainstream retailers. People buy print copies to make notes in and highlight, but often supplement them with audiobooks as well.
Bible publishers like Harper Collins, Tyndale House Publishers, and others are saying that young people are buying Bibles specifically designed to cater to the Gen Z crowd.
I guess they've made updates since they dropped this banger that was in most of our homes growing up. 👇
The proliferation of new editions and innovative designs has made this a golden age of Bible publishing. The demand may be driven as much by highly focused marketing efforts as by people seeking answers to difficult questions, said J. Mark Bertrand, founder of Lectio.org, a website about Bible design.
'I'd like to say there is a craving for knowledge of scripture, but a lot of smart people are thinking about Bible marketing and catering to every whim for Bible study,' Bertrand said ...
HarperCollins Christian Publishing ... attributes the demand to two distinct groups: the spiritually curious, who are perhaps picking up their first Bible, and those seeking a deeper sense of spirituality and expanding existing Bible collections.
The proliferation of study Bibles, graphic novel Bibles, chronological Bibles, note-taking Bibles, and other niche marketing tools are credited with getting the Bible into more hands.
Big things are happening right now.
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
