The Holy Bible – Dr. Rich Swier

The Bible is selling out, Christian music is breaking charts, and millions are rediscovering what truly matters.

They told us faith was fading in America. That the old stories, the old institutions, the old Book — it was done. That people no longer needed the scriptures, the songs, the Sunday-morning rituals.

But if you peer beneath the surface, if you look at the numbers creeping up behind the headlines, you’ll see something quite different: a quietly rising tide of spiritual engagement.

The Bible: not just still alive — booming

Here’s one part of the story: in the United States, sales of the Bible have surged. In 2024, through October, the number of copies sold hit roughly 13.7 million, a 22 % rise over the same period the year before. In the U.K., between 2019 and 2024, Bible sales jumped some 87 % — an astonishing rebound.

What’s driving this?

Publishers don’t mince words: “We’re in a golden age of Bible publishing,” said one.

New editions, youth-editions, graphic Bibles, stylized covers, and robust marketing are part of it.

But wait — there’s a deeper current. According to the American Bible Society, the number of Americans who say they read the Bible outside church at least three times a year rose from 38 % to 41 % in their latest survey — translating to about ten million more people

So, amid a backdrop of secularism, religion-unaffiliated labels rising, and many assuming the church’s influence is waning — the data says otherwise. People are asking questions. They’re opening the Book. They’re buying the Book. That’s worth pausing on.

It’s not only in bookstores. The search for meaning is going mobile.

Bible apps, devotion tools, and online scripture engagement are increasingly getting traction. The shift is unmistakable: theology once confined to pews is now in pockets.

Christian music: the soundtrack of resurgence

Now switch tracks from pages to playlists.

While the broader music-streaming industry is still growing, its growth is decelerating.

For example: in the U.S., total on-demand audio streams were up 4.6 % in early 2025, down from 8% a year earlier.

But within this plateau, guess which genre is bucking the trend? Christian/gospel music.

According to multiple analyses, Christian music has seen streaming growth of ~60 % globally over five years, and in the U.S. it’s among the fastest-growing genres.

The narrative here: songs that once belonged largely to church sanctuaries or Christian radio are now breaking into mainstream listening streams—commutes, gyms, playlists, TikTok.

A younger, streaming-native audience is discovering faith via beats and lyrics, not just sermons. The audience profile is 60 % female, 30 % millennial, and overwhelmingly streaming-first.

Why now? What’s changed?

Here’s where the story gets interesting. Christian culture is not just surviving—it’s adapting, innovating, and aligning with the mood of the moment.

We live in times of mounting uncertainty: economic stress, culture wars, identity crises. In such a climate, many seek grounding. The Bible and faith give a narrative, a story bigger than the self.
The formats are new. A Bible isn’t just a plain hardcover anymore — you’ve got journaling editions, graphic-novel Bibles, youth-focused designs. Scripture is being made relevant for a generation raised on TikTok rather than Sunday school.
Music, too, has morphed. It’s not worship ONLY inside a church: it’s a background in everyday life, with the beat of the gospel replaced by the gospel in your earbuds.
Younger listeners (Gen Z, Millennials) are less hostile to spirituality than we assumed. They may not always flock to traditional institutions—but they are curious about meaning, identity, story. And Christian content is capturing some of that curiosity.

What it means — and why it matters

For writers, policymakers, church leaders, cultural analysts: this isn’t a niche blip. It matters. Because if faith is reviving — quietly, digitally, musically — then the assumptions many hold about religion’s future may need revisiting.

Churches might need to consider less “how do we survive” and more “how do we show up where people already are.”

Music ministries, devotion apps, social media scripture commentary—all become front-lines of engagement. For publishers, the boom in Bibles tells us there’s appetite. Evangelicals and traditions beyond might take note: the market is shifting.

Yet we must be cautious, too. A rising number of Bible sales doesn’t automatically equal deep discipleship, and a rising stream count doesn’t guarantee a changed life. These are signals, not assurances.

Engagement is the first step; growth in meaning and community may still be lagging. This is why, in part, publications like the Majority Report are necessary and need to grow.

Conclusion: a revival in plain sight

So yes—the story many assumed was ending may in fact be rebooting. The Bible is not merely surviving—it’s selling. Christian music isn’t just being streamed—it’s being listened to at scale.

The digital age is not the enemy of faith—it may be its new vessel.

In a world of noise, churn, and change, many people are choosing an anchor. They’re turning pages once again. They’re hitting play on songs about hope. They’re opening apps that speak of transcendence. And if you ask me, that’s worth watching.

AUTHOR

Martin Mawyer

Martin Mawyer is the President of Christian Action Network, host of the “Shout Out Patriots” podcast, and author of When Evil Stops Hiding. Subscribe for more action alerts, cultural commentary, and real-world campaigns defending faith, family, and freedom.

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During trying times like these, with many storms upon us (literally and figuratively), no book provides greater comfort than the Bible.

Yet how many actually read it? Although there are studies noting a drop of Bible-reading among Americans in recent times, nonetheless, 47 million are reported to be “Scripture engaged.” No other book would come close to that kind of readership.

As of this writing, the education department of the state of Oklahoma is planning to purchase 55,000 Bibles for the public schools. I’m sure the left is gnashing their teeth over such a plan.

But historically the Bible was the reason that education for the masses was developed in America in the first place. The Puritan forefathers created schools for the masses (a forerunner to the public schools), so that children could learn to read, so they could read the Bible for themselves.

Someone might argue, “Well, that was the Puritans. But surely the founding fathers didn’t agree with that.”

But, actually, they did argue for that in 1787 and in 1789 when the founders adopted the Northwest Ordinance. As new territories became states in the newly formed United States, they were to follow the same basic template.

Here’s what Article III of the Northwest Ordinance had to say about schools, which were voluntary at that time and often run by churches: “Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary for good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”

The Bible was the chief textbook in one way or another for the first 200-300 years of America—and that’s when the children could read, because of it. It was the Bible that gave birth to Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, and so on.

It was only when the schools explicitly went against the Scriptures that American education went off the rails. Now there are major portions of society who can’t read, despite years of schooling.

Meanwhile, is there a correlation between reading the Scriptures and human flourishing?

Many social science studies have shown that church is good for society, that attending church on a regular basis lengthens your life (on average), and that attending church often improves the quality of your life as well. Dr. Byron Johnson of Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion has spent years assessing studies on the impact of applied religion (generally, Christianity) leading to positive personal and societal improvement. Dr. Johnson even wrote a book showing how Christian belief and practice helps lower criminal behavior. The book is appropriately titled, More God, Less Crime.

But what about Bible-reading? A recent study that Dr. Johnson wrote, along with M. Bradshaw and S. J. Jang, is entitled, “Assessing the Link Between Bible Reading and Flourishing among Military Families.”

Before exploring their results (which were positive), the study mentions earlier related findings: “Previous research shows salutary associations between multiple dimensions of religiosity (including reading sacred texts) and different aspects of flourishing (e.g., physical health, psychological well-being, character and virtue, social connections and support).”

The abstract of the study noted: “Bible reading may promote overall mental, physical, and social well-being.”

They list at three of their findings on how the Bible fosters human flourishing: “First, Bible reading is likely to promote psychological well-being by helping individuals develop a close relationship with a loving and caring God who engages in the lives of individuals.”

They continue: “Second, Bible reading may facilitate feelings of divine control that help cope with stress. Third, positive and encouraging messages in the Bible may also promote purpose in life and guidance seeking, which may also enhance flourishing.”

I have found personally that when I started reading the Bible for myself as a young man that it was such a great source for knowledge, for wisdom, for direction, for personal relations, etc.

The Bible was important to great Americans like George Washington, whose writings and speeches are filled with Biblical phrases, such as “And everyman shall rest under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make them afraid.” This was Washington’s vision for America.

Even Jefferson collected many of the teachings of Jesus (including a few miracles) in a document for Native-Americans, so they could benefit from them, just as we have. People mistakenly call this unpublished work “The Jefferson Bible.” But as Jefferson noted once, the morality of Jesus is the most sublime and greatest moral teaching of all time.

President Lincoln called the Scriptures “the best gift God has ever given men,” through which we learn about the Savior. Millions of Americans have revered the Bible.

As Ronald Reagan once said of the holy book, “Inside its pages lie all the answers to all the problems that man has ever known.”

To promote human flourishing, spread the message of the Scriptures.

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