As war, political turmoil, and cultural anxiety continue to shape everyday life, more Americans are turning back to Scripture. In 2025, Bible sales in the United States reached their highest point in more than two decades, signaling what experts describe as a renewed hunger for meaning and stability in uncertain times.

According to Circana BookScan, 2025 “marked a 21-year high for Bible sales in the U.S.,” with 19 million Bibles sold nationwide. That figure represents a 12 percent increase from 2024 and double the number sold in 2019, just one year before the pandemic upended daily life and exposed deep national divisions.

The bestselling adult Bible of the year was The Invitation New Testament, published by B&H Publishing. For young readers, The Action Bible: God’s Redemptive Story—a graphic-novel style retelling illustrated by Sergio Cariello and published by David C Cook—topped the children’s category.

The trend isn’t limited to the United States. Bible sales in the United Kingdom have also climbed dramatically, rising 134 percent since 2008, according to Christian publisher SPCK. The bestselling U.K. title was the ESV Bible (English Standard Version), published by Crossway.

Observers say the spike reflects more than just consumer interest. “The greater interest in religious content in the U.S. reflects a bigger search for hope and community,” said Brenna Connor, Circana director, adding that Americans are “turning to faith-based resources as anchors of stability and sources of comfort during uncertain times.”

SPCK CEO Sam Richardson pointed to larger global pressures as a likely catalyst, citing “worldwide political and social change, including the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, global wars, the rise of AI, and a growing mental health crisis,” all of which have forced many to confront “questions of meaning and spirituality.”

At HarperCollins Christian Publishing, the momentum shows no signs of slowing. “We just surpassed 10 million units of the NIV Study Bible,” CEO Mark Schoenwald said, noting that the company is pacing for its third straight year of double-digit growth across every format. “What that tells me is people are not just buying Bibles, but they’re actually trying to read them and understand them and then apply them to their lives.”