'Assurance that we're going to be OK': Sales of the Bible are breaking records this year

Bible sales are red hot so far this year despite book sales in general being flat across the industry.

Sales are up 22 percent through the end of October, according to Circana BookScan. Many buyers bought a Bible for the first time, reported Forbes.

"One publisher of Bibles told The Wall Street Journal it has seen a surge of interest from Generation Z and younger Americans," the publication reported. "There are more than 8 million posts on TikTok about the Bible, as well as a slew of videos about Bibles to buy, many with hundreds of thousands or even over 1 million likes."

Americans bought 9.7 million Bibles in 2019 and 14.2 million last year, but the number has already hit 13.7 million so far this year.

"Not included in that total, by the way, is the so-called Donald Trump Bible, which includes the lyrics to Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA and a copy of the Constitution," Forbes reported. "Nor are copies of other religious texts, including the Quran or the Hebrew Bible."

Sales have also been on the rise from mainstream retailers like Amazon, Forbes reported.

"People are experiencing anxiety themselves, or they're worried for their children and grandchildren," said Jeff Crosby, of Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. "It's related to artificial intelligence, election cycles … and all of that feeds a desire for assurance that we're going to be OK.