In the last year, the sale of Bibles in the US has jumped by a staggering 22%, despite overall book sales in the country only rising by less than 1%.
This increase, reported by Circana BookScan, has been attributed to people searching for stability and assurance, and is the latest sign of an encouraging trend of growth for Bible sales in the US. In 2019, 9.7million Bibles were bought by Americans, whereas last year that number leapt to 14.2 million, and in the first ten months of this year has already hit 13.7 million (Forbes).
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, the president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association put the surge down to people ‘experiencing anxiety … related to artificial intelligence and election cycles’ and looking for ‘assurance that we’re going to be okay’.
Jonathan Carswell, director of Christian publisher 10ofThose – who have a growing presence in America – said to en that the increase may be due to a growing trend of using Bibles in evangelism. ‘The recent resurgence of Bibles is so encouraging to see. We are witnessing it first -hand in a number of different places across the US, not just online but also at the pop-up bookstores we provide,’ he stated.
‘People are still purchasing Bibles for their own use of course, but I think what is notable in recent months is a shift in people also purchasing them for “ministry”. It’s really evident for example, in churches thinking how they can use and gift Bibles in their evangelism. This might be in a newcomer’s gift bag in the Welcome Area, or prison ministries reaching inmates or, as we heard recently, Christians reaching every house in their neighbourhood with the gift of a Bible.
‘It really does seem that we have an anxious generation looking for answers, and what better thing to put in their hand than the infallible and powerful word of God.’
A large percentage of those buying Bibles in the last year are first-time buyers. This is an encouraging sign in a country where 28% identify as atheist, agnostic or ‘nothing in particular’ (Pew Research study).
