Why are young people buying Bibles again?

In 2025, U.S. Bible sales hit a 21-year high, and many buyers are young. People give different reasons: looking for meaning, worry about the world, tiredness with screens, or curiosity sparked online. More Bibles doesn’t automatically mean more believers. But it does mean a lot of people are reading, asking and looking.

1 · MindWhat people believe, and how they know

According to industry sales tracking, U.S. Bible sales in 2025 were up 12 percent from the year before and about double what they were in 2019. In the U.K., print Bible sales rose nearly 28 percent in 2025, according to the publisher SPCK, the biggest jump on record there.

Bigger surveys tell a quieter story. Pew’s 2025 Religious Landscape Study found about 62 percent of U.S. adults call themselves Christian. That’s down from decades ago, but the decline seems to have leveled off in recent years. Some surveys show more young men attending church. Others don’t. Researchers say it’s too early to call it a revival.

What’s clear is that interest is real, and much of it is coming from people who didn’t grow up in church.

What each tradition or community says

Many Christians

People are hungry for something solid. The Bible has answered that hunger for 2,000 years, and it’s doing it again.

Some skeptics

Sales aren’t belief. Bibles are bought as gifts, as trends and as curiosities. Watch what people do over years, not one sales chart.

Many researchers

Something is shifting, especially among young adults, but it will take more years of data to know how big it is.

2 · HeartWhat it feels like

Many young people say they started reading because they felt anxious, lonely or tired of their phones. Some feel shy walking into a church for the first time, or think everyone there already knows the rules.

Longtime churchgoers are sometimes surprised, and happy, to see new faces in the pews.

Whatever’s behind it, a lot of young people are opening an old book with honest questions. If one of them sits next to you on Sunday, say hello. If they don’t, say hello anyway.Neighbor Radio

3 · HandsHow to be a good neighbor

If a young neighbor or coworker is reading the Bible, ask what they’re reading and what they think of it. Listen before you explain. If they ask where to start, the Gospel of Mark is short and fast. If you’re the new reader, it’s okay to ask “dumb” questions. Everyone does.

This weekRead the Gospel of Mark in one sitting. It takes about an hour and a half.

Plain wordsWhat do these words mean?

Gospel: “Good news.” The message about Jesus. The Gospels are the four books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) that tell his life.

All the words →

Four questions to take with you

From Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan, about the stranger who stopped to help. We call it the Samaritan Test.

Did they see? Or look right past?
Did they stop? Even when it was inconvenient?
Did it cost them? Time, money, comfort, reputation?
Did they treat the person like a person? Not like a label?

Try it on: when someone new shows up curious, do you make room for them, or test them?

Quick questions

Is there a revival happening?

Some Christians say yes. Researchers say interest is up, but it’s too soon to know how deep or lasting it is.

Which Bible should a beginner get?

Many beginners like a readable translation such as the NIV, NLT or CSB. Any Bible you’ll actually read is a good one.

Sources and research

How this answer was made

Written in plain words by the Neighbor Radio team. Each faith's and community's section is checked by someone from that faith or community. Until then, this page says so. Spot something wrong? Tell us. We read every note and fix mistakes.