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Since Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, the top-selling book in the world has been the Bible. That’s by a couple of billion copies, according to some sales trackers. Lately, it’s having another moment. Bible sales in the United States last year were up by 20% over 2023, according to Circana, a publishing industry tracker. This year, they’ve increased by another 14%.
That amounts to 18.4 million Bibles sold in the U.S. in 2025 so far.
Publishers say they’re noticing more discussion of religion, partially led by political officials who are open about their faith. They also say anxiety and stress from being constantly inundated with news and online content drives people to look for comfort and deeper answers.
Bible sales in the United States last year were up by 20% over 2023. This year, they’ve increased by another 14%. Many faith leaders and communities hope this could be a sign of a religious revival.
“[The spike in sales] is a true increase over at least recent history. And one of the things that makes it compelling is it seems to be sustaining itself,” says Amy Simpson, publisher of the Bible division of Tyndale House Publishers. “What we’re seeing here looks really real.”
“There’s another interesting thing that we see happening around us, just in the public square, about people’s openness to spiritual answers and to the Bible specifically,” she adds.
Circana
“We are seeing an increase in spiritual curiosity,” writes a spokesperson for HarperCollins Christian Publishing, “as well as spiritual deepening.” They are seeing “new or first-time buyers driven by concern about current events who are seeking answers to questions they have about life and death, what is happening now, and what will happen in the future.”
Some of the bestselling Bibles are “specialty Bibles,” with study guides or pages and prompts for journaling, as opposed to “text Bibles,” which include only the translation. Videos on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube walk viewers through Bible study. Editions feature colored highlighter sets and sticky notes. Other Bibles, like a new one from Lifeway Christian Resources, are created for children or for dyslexic readers. There’s also a “God Bless the USA Bible” (not published by Lifeway), endorsed by President Donald Trump, which includes copies of some of America’s founding documents.
Specialty Bibles are “outperforming text Bibles,” says Andy McLean, publisher of Bibles and reference at Lifeway, which publishes the Christian Standard Bible.
The interest in specialty Bibles may indirectly indicate that religion is becoming more of a market economy, says Christian Smith, a professor at the University of Notre Dame, as different denominations “compete” for the faithful.
It’s not entirely clear who’s driving the sales, or whether they are coming from people who already count themselves as Christian. But “we’re seeing some first-time buyers,” especially from younger generations, says Mr. McLean.
Tyndale, which owns the New Living Translation, believes Generation Z is driving some of its sales, too, says Ms. Simpson. Sales are fairly evenly distributed across categories, including purchases by individuals and institutions.
Many faith leaders and communities hope Bible sales are a sign of a religious revival. And the growth comes as Spotify streams of Christian music and downloads of Christian apps are both at high points. (Those formats were less prolific or were unavailable until fairly recently.) Christian podcasts, too, are growing in number. But interest in various forms of media doesn’t necessarily mean more people in pews. And most studies still show consistency in some key areas: Religious affiliation in the U.S. continues to decline, and Gen Z is the least religious generation, full stop.
About 43% of Gen Zers in 2024 identified as “nones” – no religious affiliation – according to the General Social Survey, which many researchers consider the gold standard for religion data. That’s a higher share of “nones” than any other generation.
“The zeitgeist is in the direction of the revival right now,” says Ryan Burge, a political scientist and author of the Substack “Graphs About Religion.” “The data is not.”
Still, many people of faith see indicators that give them hope. In some cases, it may be a desire among the already religious to go all in. A significant number – some 63% of American adults – identifies as Christian, and many individuals, clergy, and institutions are vocal about seeking to deepen their faith.
“The idea that we’re becoming less religious – I want to say, but what do you mean by that? Because the people who are left are actually more religious,” says Dr. Burge.
“Some people, in many ways, are drawn to strict religion because they like the rules, like the structure, like the community, like all those things. And because they stand so far apart from the mainstream culture,” says Dr. Burge. It is, he thinks, one reason evangelical affiliation is on the rise (now 19.5% of Americans), after hitting a low in 2021. That compares with mainline Protestant denominations, which continue to steadily decline.
Various faith-based groups report rising membership, including Students for Life, which has a Christian statement of faith. The group saw a spike in membership after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in September. “People’s passion is on the rise, and engagement is on the rise,” says Kristi Hamrick, vice president of media and policy.
Young people are trying to live out their values, says Ms. Hamrick, pointing to research showing they value purpose-driven work. And campus revivals continue to occur, sometimes on a large scale – like a large-scale gathering at Asbury University in Kentucky in 2023 that lasted for two weeks. Among those who join Students for Life, she sees a desire to serve others in practical ways.
“I would argue that [religion] is rising. I do think you have to dig for it as an undercurrent,” she says.
Dr. Smith thinks there needs to be more data before declaring a revival.
“I’ve heard a lot of rumors and a little bit of evidence of alleged, possibly religious revival, or interest in religion,” says Dr. Smith, who is also director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at Notre Dame.
“I’m pretty skeptical,” he says. “Before we really start to make a point of it, there needs to be a lot more solid data.” There isn’t yet enough data on Gen Z, he points out, to draw solid conclusions about the younger generation’s trends over time.
Still, it makes sense that those who have stuck with religion are more devout. “The quality of the more hardcore is going to be more committed, more serious, in some quarters, more sectarian,” he says. “It’s a leftover effect. It’s not an increase in commitment.”
Like Students for Life, American Heritage Girls, a Christian leadership program, has also seen “remarkable growth” in recent years, wrote Rachael Culpepper, the executive director, in an email to the Monitor. “Families are seeking authentic community that reflects their Christian values.”
And interest in religious schools has grown. LifeWise Academy, a program that works with parents and churches to provide Bible class to students during school hours, now has programs in more than 300 school districts.
Recently, there’s been an uptick in interest, says Joel Penton, the CEO. “People are realizing that you need a foundation for your life.”
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While there are growing churches and faith-based programs, those signs, along with Bible sales, haven’t been borne out in data yet. Dr. Burge is cautious about what the rise in Bible sales suggests. He wonders about the specifics of who is buying Bibles and whether they have other religious habits.
“It’s an interesting top number, and it hints at something,” he says.
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