Bible sales surged after Charlie Kirk was killed
September saw a huge spike in Bible sales following Kirk's death in Utah
Douglas Sacha
The murder of Charlie Kirk in September not only widened the rift between political ideologies in America, it sparked something of a religious revitalization in the country. Bible sales last month were up 36% compared to the year prior.
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Some 2.4 million Bibles were purchased in September, according to Circana BookScan, which tracks book sales. Prior to that, Bible sales were averaging around 1.5 million per month in 2025, reports The Wall Street Journal.
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Bible sales were already on the rise. As of the end of September, they were 11% higher than that point in 2024, despite an overall 1% drop in print book sales.
Kirk spoke frequently about his Christian faith to young audiences before his murder in Utah on Sept. 10. HarperCollins Christian Publishing says it has seen increased interest in the Bible from people aged 18-34 – the demographic Kirk most frequently engaged with. On TikTok, there are currently 11.5 million posts with the #bible classification.
The publisher told the Journal that sales of Bible study guides are also up, indicating people are making an effort to understand the Bible and incorporate its lessons into their daily lives. Erika Kirk’s expression of forgiveness for the man accused of shooting her husband at the memorial service honoring Kirk could also have spurred sales.
The anxieties of modern life have driven more and more people to buy the book that's at the center of the Christian faith. In 2019, Americans bought 9.7 million Bibles. By 2023, that number jumped to 14.2 million. The number topped 13.7 million in 2024.
Not included in those totals 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. Nor are copies of other religious texts, including the Qur’an or the Hebrew Bible.