In his appeal to religious voters, President-elect Donald Trump promised a spiritual revival in America, and there is now a measurable way to track that promise: Bible sales are soaring.
Although overall sales of printed books have remained relatively flat over the past year (increasing by less than 1%), Bible sales have risen by 22% through October, according to Circana BookScan, The Wall Street Journal reports today.
Even though 28% of adults in the U.S. now identify as religiously unaffiliated, according to Pew Research Center, Bible sales have grown significantly, reaching 14.2 million copies in 2023, up from 9.7 million in 2019. By October of this year, sales had already hit 13.7 million, as the Journal reported.
Experts point to factors such as the election, increasing anxiety, and a renewed interest—if not necessarily new commitments—to faith.
“People are experiencing anxiety themselves, or they’re worried for their children and grandchildren,” Jeff Crosby, from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, shared with the Journal. “It’s related to artificial intelligence, election cycles … and all of that feeds a desire for assurance that we’re going to be OK.”
Throughout his campaign, Trump encouraged American voters to embrace God’s teachings, even if for the first time, and emphasized the importance of faith-based voters heading to the polls in unprecedented numbers.
{Matzav.com}