Bible sales have nearly doubled in the United Kingdom in the past five years according to new data that reflects similar trends in the United States and indicates a growing hunger for God’s Word throughout the world.
Books about religion are on the rise, too, in the UK, increasing 3 percent between 2023 and 2024 and bucking a nationwide decline that actually saw non-fiction book sales plummet 6 percent during that same timeframe.
The US has seen a similar surge.
Last fall, The Wall Street Journal cited Circana BookScan book tracking data showing that Bible sales had increased 22 percent compared to the same time frame a year earlier. Similarly, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention said Bible sales had soared 30 percent in the past year, according to a December report.
A hunger for God’s Word is spreading in other places across the globe. In Russia, Bible sales increased by 52 percent in the first three quarters of 2024, according to the country’s largest book chain.
Sam Richardson, chief executive of SPCK, told The Times that the Bible sales data suggests “we are at the center of a significant cultural shift regarding matters of faith and religion.”
Richardson said events “like the Covid-19 pandemic and the mental health crisis” have led people to “think deeply about their spirituality.”