Bible sales surged in the weeks following the fatal shooting death of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.
Sales of the scriptures increased by 36 percent in September compared to September 2024, according to publishing sales tracker Circana BookScan.
According to The Wall Street Journal, sales hovered steady around 1.5 million units per month through 2025. Sales increased to 2.4 million in September when Kirk was assassinated while addressing an audience on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10.
HarperCollins Christian Publishing said it also observed a rising interest in Bibles from Kirk's targeted demographic: young people ages 18-34.
“September brought a wave of troubling events – violence, geopolitical tensions, and economic uncertainty – underscoring a pattern: In times of crisis, more people turn to faith for comfort and support,” Brenna Connor, an analyst at Circana BookScan, told The Wall Street Journal.
Kirk's wife, Erika, also said that more people were turning to religion in America. During his funeral on September 21, she claimed that his assassination sparked a "religious revival" nationwide.
“This past week, we saw people open a Bible for the first time in a decade. We saw people pray for the first time since they were children. We saw people go to a church service for the first time in their entire lives,” she stated.
Even with the increase in sales, the report comes as Americans remain doubtful about the Bible. The American Bible Society's latest release of its annual State of the Bible report shows that approximately 36 percent of Americans trust that the Bible is "totally accurate in all its principles it presents." Another 39 percent disagreed.
Just 50 years ago, Chief Innovation Officer with The American Bible Society, John Farquhar Plake, said most Americans generally trusted the Bible.
"Attitudes are more complex these days," he said.
Nationwide, data from the Pew Research Center reveal that more Americans are becoming less religious. Fewer Americans say religion is very important in their lives, with the percentage dropping from a stable 58 percent to 45 percent between 2012 and 2024.