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The Holy Bible, the first book ever printed, is experiencing a resurgence in 2024. A recent report on book sales in the US found that the Bible has been flying off the shelves, but while we can see that there has been a renewed interest in the Christian scriptures, it is not exactly clear what has led to this renewed popularity.
A report from the Wall Street Journalhighlighted how Bible sales have risen by 22% compared to the same time last year. It is a sharp contrast to the total number of books sold in the US, which is only about 1% higher than in 2023. The Journal suggested all sorts of explanations for the sudden rise in sales, from new and better marketing campaigns to anxieties about the world and a search for hope.
Amy Simpson of Tyndale House Publishers suggested to the WSJ that much of the rise in Bible sales comes from Generation Z, the oldest of whom are now coming into their own as mid-20s adults.
She pointed to the survey “State of the Bible 2023,” which found some 44% of Generation Z is curious about Jesus Christ and the Bible. “This generation is looking for something that feels more solid,” Simpson said.
In an interview with Fox Business, Alex Jones, co-founder and CEO of the popular prayer app Hallow, suggested that this renewed interest is by divine providence. With a nod to the recent success of the National Eucharistic Revival, he suggested that, “God is doing something really cool.”
He continued:
“It feels like a real revival is happening. I felt it in my own life. I had fallen away from my faith and came back to it, which is why we started Hallow in the beginning, but we see thousands of people coming to this app and to faith from all different walks of life.”
A report from Zenit suggested other factors, like a rise in the popularity of social media influencers and high-profile celebrities opening up about their faith. This is a little harder to pin down, as there has been a marked decrease in the public’s interest in celebrity opinions in the last year. Streamers, on the other hand, tend to be more authentic, but few of them have the reach to influence the number of book sales by 22%.
In an opinion piece from the Washington Times, Everett Piper suggested that Generation Z is simply moving away from the cultural zeitgeist. One of his best observations was the general negative outlook on “older books” by those in charge; for example a school in Mississauga, Ontario, removed all books from its library published before 2008 because it didn’t want anything “old” and “outdated” influencing their students.
As all adults should remember from their adolescent days, the fastest way to get kids reading a book is to take it away, or tell them they shouldn’t read it. It is natural for a certain amount of rebelliousness against those in charge and negative outlooks, or even outright dismissal of the Bible could make the younger generations more curious about its message. Piper also suggested that Gen Z has seen the downward trends in the appreciation of the biblical narratives by Gen X and Millennials, and have learned from their mistakes.
It’s hard to pin down an exact reason for the sudden surge in Bible sales, and it’s important to remember that just because Bible sales are up, does not mean that more people are reading the Good Book. Still, spaces on many people’s bookshelves has been filled by Bibles that were not there this time last year, and that is a step in the right direction to bring the younger generations back to the faith.
And today we celebrate...