Bible sales in Britain hit record high as interest in religion rises among Gen Z

Bible sales in Britain have hit their highest level on record after more than doubling compared to pre-pandemic levels, driven by a surge in interest in religion from Gen Z, the Daily Mail of UK reported on Friday.

Total UK sales of the religious text reached £6.3 million last year – up 134 per cent in value from £2.7 million in 2019, according to analysis of UK firm, Nielsen BookScan data.

Sales have also risen by 106 per cent in volume over the same period. Between 2024 and 2025, sales went up by 25 per cent in value and 28 per cent in volume.

The increase in recent years is also dramatically higher when comparing the period before COVID between 2008 and 2019, when annual sales grew by only £277,000.

Last year’s bestselling Bible translation was the English Standard Version published by Crossway, according to the figures compiled by Christian publisher, SPCK Group. ‘Religion’ also remains one of the fastest-growing areas of ‘trade non-fiction’ with overall sales up 11 per cent in 2025, after growth of 6 per cent the year before.

SPCK Group chief executive, Sam Richardson, said the increase was “further evidence of a significant cultural shift regarding matters of faith and religion in this country.” He also claimed that the inquisitive nature of Gen Z, those aged between 18 and 28, in a time of global unrest was helping drive the “significant and sustained” rise.

READ ALSO: Towards understanding books of the Bible

Mr Richardson told the Daily Mail of UK: “Young people – Gen Z in particular – are statistically far less likely to identify as atheists than their parents. Many are far more open to spirituality and the exploration of religion than previous generations.

“This may well be because Gen Z, who experienced the global COVID-19 pandemic as children and teenagers, are now reaching adulthood in an increasingly turbulent world, where everything from politics to the economy, culture and technology is constantly shifting.

“We are seeing more and more people – Gen Z included – investigating the Bible for themselves and seeking to draw their own conclusions rather than relying on the status quo.”

Some young Britons have taken to TikTok to talk about buying the book for the first time, with @thatcantbesteven posting a video of her holding one up to her phone camera, with the caption: ‘Guess who just purchased their first Bible.’

Another @Naomiella_x said she had been an atheist for most of her life, but was now considering going to church and had ordered her first Bible.

She said: “I’m really excited, I’ve ordered my first Bible, I’ve got a little Bible study book to help me understand it. I’ve been speaking to a few girls online privately about how to get into this, this and this and they’re really helping me.

“It’s bringing me happiness, it really is, and it’s bringing me peace which is something I’m really valuing at the moment.”

Another 28-year-old TikToker called @Debiia__ said she had recently been baptised and bought her first Bible, doing an ‘unboxing’ video in which she said: “Look how pretty this is. I’m so excited.”

The data mirrors figures in the US last year which showed Bible sales went up sharply in the weeks after the assassination of Christian media personality Charlie Kirk.

In September, the month he was killed, some 2.4 million Bibles were sold across the US – a 36 per cent jump from the same month in 2024, according to book tracker, CircanaBookScan.

Bible sales were also already up in America by 11 per cent for the first nine months of 2025 compared with 2024.

Last month, a UK survey found Christmas churchgoing was on the rise in Britain with nearly half of people planning to attend a service or event – with Gen Z also leading the trend.Some 45 per cent of UK adults said they expected to visit a church in Christmas 2025 – up from 40 per cent the previous year, according to the study for the charity Tearfund.

Younger people were found to be far more likely to go to church, with reasons given ranging from tradition to spiritual reflection and support to the atmosphere.

This survey followed the much-cited ‘Quiet Revival’ report in April 2025 from the Bible Society and YouGov about rising church attendance in England and Wales by younger people.

This surveyed 13,146 adults in November 2024 and found that Christians who go to church at least once a month made up 12 per cent of the total population, rising from 8 per cent in 2018.

For people aged 18 to 24, the proportion rose to 16 per cent from just 4 per cent in 2018, making this age group the second most likely to go to church regularly after those aged 65 and over.

The increase was particularly pronounced among younger men, 21 per cent of whom said they were regular churchgoers versus 12 per cent of women aged 18 to 24.