In the weeks following the assassination of Christian political activist Charlie Kirk, Americans have turned to Scripture in record numbers. Bible sales surged 36% in September compared to the same month last year, according to new data from Circana BookScan.
Approximately 2.4 million Bibles were sold in September 2025, a sharp rise from 1.5 million in August. Until then, monthly sales for the year had hovered between 1.2 million and 1.6 million copies.
Mark Schoenwald, president and CEO of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, said the surge can be traced directly to Kirk’s death.
“People started to think about what they believe and why,” Schoenwald told The Wall Street Journal. “It awakened a lot of them.”
HarperCollins Christian Publishing — the country’s largest commercial publisher of Bibles and Christian books — reported that young adults made up a major portion of the new demand, with a particularly strong showing among 18- to 34-year-olds.
Analysts say the increase fits a long-standing trend: in times of national distress, people often reach for faith.
“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,” said Brenna Connor, an analyst at Circana BookScan.
Kirk’s widow, Erika, also spoke to the moment during her remarks at his memorial service, saying she has seen signs of renewed spiritual interest across the country.
“This past week, we saw people open a Bible for the first time in a decade,” Erika said in her remarks. “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.”
Bible sales have continued to grow over the last two years. From January through September 2025, Bible sales rose 11% compared to the same period last year. In 2024, sales between January and October were up 22% from 2023.