Bible Sales Surge 30 Percent as Young Adults Search for Truth, SBC Says
- Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
- Updated Dec 18, 2024
The publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention says Bible sales have soared 30 percent in the past year, and at least two seminary professors within the denomination say the growth could be driven by a younger population searching for truth. The new data from B&H Publishing comes some two weeks after The Wall Street Journal released data from Circana BookScan reporting Bible sales up 22 percent in the U.S. compared to the same time frame last year. By comparison, book sales in 2023 were up only 1 percent compared to the same time frame the previous year, Circana BookScan said.
Andy McLean, publisher of Bibles and Reference for Lifeway Christian Resources -- the parent company of B&H -- said the current era is the “golden age in Bible publishing.”
“It’s an interesting time,” McLean told Baptist Press. “We’ve seen a general increase in the last two or three years with the Bible market. There are a lot of unique types of Bibles out there helping people in different ways understand the meaning of Scripture, and that’s an encouraging thing.”
Joe Walker, Lifeway’s executive vice president and CFO, said in August that Bible sales had doubled since 2019.
Tommy Doughty, assistant professor of theology and Christian worldview at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, suggested that Gen Z may be driving the interest in Scripture.
“They are now well into young adulthood – with the oldest past college age and youngest passing puberty,” Doughty told Baptist Press. “Rather than the internet-driven popular culture they have been drowning in, I wouldn’t be surprised if many are beginning to look for real-life answers now they are faced with social and career decisions.
“With loneliness and dislocation prevalent, especially in our socially deprived youth, there is no wonder many would turn to renewed attempts at spiritual awakening.”
Bethany Martin, manager of the Faith & Life Bookstore in Newton, Kan., told The Wall Street Journal she has seen many first-time Bible purchasers this year.
“They’re looking for hope with the world the way it is, and the Bible is what they’re reaching for,” she said.
Jeff Audirsch, professor of Biblical studies at New Orleans Seminary, said the younger generation is searching for truth.
“There seems to be a response to the truth-is-relative and post-modern points of view,” he told Baptist Press. “They’ve run their course. Young adults see that they need truth in their lives and know where to find it.”
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Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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