Bible sales soar as number of American Christians shrinks

The ultimate bestseller is back: Bible sales are climbing in uncertain times, driven in part by first-time buyers.

U.S. Bible sales have shot up by 22% through October compared to the same period last year, significantly outpacing the less than 1% growth in overall print book sales, according to Circana Book Scan.

“I have butterflies,” wrote a nervous Cely Vazquez atop a TikTok documenting her experience buying her first Bible at a Barnes & Noble.

Ms. Vazquez, a former reality show contestant and online influencer, said she considers herself a religious person but never had her own Bible before.

“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,” she declared in the short video.

In 2019, 9.7 million Bibles sold, but in just the first 10 months of 2024, sales have already exceeded 13.7 million — a 41% increase, the Circana Report says.

Social media influencers and celebrities openly sharing their faith have contributed to the trend, Mark Schoenwald, president and CEO of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, told The Wall Street Journal.

President-elect Donald Trump even took to Truth Social earlier this year to give an endorsement to the Scriptures.

“All Americans need a Bible in their home, and I have many. It’s my favorite book,” Mr. Trump proclaimed in March. “I’m proud to endorse and encourage you to get this Bible. We must make America pray again.”

Nearly three-quarters of Americans (71%) express at least some curiosity about the Bible and Jesus, with 39% reporting they are very or extremely curious, the American Bible Society reports.

Reddit, too, has become a forum for new Christians to share their tales of fresh encounters with the Bible.

“I see myself as a Christian and growing up I never went to church,” one Redditor wrote earlier this year. “A while back I bought myself a KJV Bible and it has just been sitting collecting dust. Today I decided to open my Bible and I read the John sections (that’s what was recommended for me to start at). I feel really good about myself taking the time to read some scripture today and I’m going to make a habit of reading little by little every morning.”

Christian bookstore manager Bethany Martin said the influx of first-time buyers are simply seeking hope. “They’re looking for hope with the world the way it is, and the Bible is what they’re reaching for,” she told the Journal.

Design variations could be buoying the Good Book’s success, too — goatskin exteriors, graphic cartoons inside, and myriad translations from which to choose.

Jeff Crosby, president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, told the Journal that general fear of the future has a lot to do with it.

“People are experiencing anxiety themselves, or they’re worried for their children and grandchildren,” Mr. Crosby said. “It’s related to artificial intelligence, election cycles … and all of that feeds a desire for assurance that we’re going to be OK.”

The surge in Bible sales comes even as the U.S. seems to race away from Christianity. Today, roughly 64% of Americans will call themselves Christian, according to a 2020 Pew Research Center study — down from 90% just 50 years prior.

And projections from Pew Research show the number of American Christians shrinking to just above one-third (35%) of all Americans by 2070.

Even so, according to the American Bible Society, about 24% of the U.S. population still personally engages with Scripture at least once a week outside of church services.

But the frequency of interaction varies significantly across demographic groups.

Women, for instance, are more likely (41%) than men (36%) to connect with the Bible a few times a year. Separated women, in particular, tend to gravitate to the Scriptures.

Racial disparities are evident as well, with 57% of Black Americans reporting regular Bible use, compared to 40% of Hispanics, 35% of Whites and 27% of Asians.

Among religious affiliations, evangelical Protestants (70%) and members of historically Black Protestant denominations (68%) are the most engaged, far surpassing mainline Protestants (46%) and Catholics (37%).