The Holy Bible, the best-selling book of all time, is experiencing a renaissance in the United States — and Generation Z is being hailed as the primary catalyst.

According to data from Circana Bookscan published in the Wall Street Journal last month, Bible sales surged 22 per cent through October compared to the same period in 2023, compared to total U.S. print book sales, which only rose one per cent.

In precise numeric figures, 13.7 million Bibles were sold from January to October 2024, almost on par with the 14.2 million sold during all of 2023.

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Data from The Canadian Bible Society suggests that a Canadian Bible resurgence is perhaps beginning to blossom as well. Nelly Safari, the vice-president of Scripture resources, said that “in 2024, CBS distributed 631,298 Bibles, Testaments and Scripture selections, a 20.1-per-cent increase from 525,466 in 2023, which itself marked a 22.5-per- cent rise from 429,014 in 2022.”

The American Bible Society’s 2024 State of the Bible report delved deeper into how Gen Z adults (ages 18-27) drive this phenomenon. Among all generations (Boomers+, Gen X, Millennials), Gen Z adults are the most likely group to report an increase in Bible reading.

Consider that 21 per cent of surveyed Gen Z adults declared that they read the Bible more in 2024, while only nine per cent said their time devoted to the Good Book declined.

Only 11 per cent of Millennials declared increased Bible usage, while 12 per cent said that their readership waned. Millennials were the only generation that experienced a downturn in Scripture reading as the 16 and 15 per cent respectively of Boomers+ and Gen X who read the Bible more in 2024 outpaced the 10 per cent and nine per cent who read it less.

Notably, the American Bible Society found through its survey of more than 35,000 American adults that Generation Z would most likely fall into a group called the “Movable Middle.” The society defines the Movable Middle as “a group of 65 million American adults who are open to the message of the Bible, curious to know more about what it says and interested in learning more about Jesus.”

Josh Noem, the editorial director of the Catholic publishing company Ave Maria Press, based in Notre Dame, Indiana, said it “made a lot of sense to him” that Gen Z is the vanguard of this Bible-reading resurgence.

“You think about the habits of this generation and the way they consume media and look for information — they're digital natives,” said Noem. "They're used to searching things up for themselves and getting a diversity of viewpoints before they make a decision. You combine that with a lack of institutional trust, and to me, it signals that this generation is looking for answers to the same kinds of questions that humans have always asked, and they're looking for resources of wisdom.”

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It also appears that this generation, bombarded with a seemingly innumerable — and perhaps exhausting — barrage of political, secular, racial and sexual ideologies and attitudes via media, government and education, increasingly believes Gospel ideas that have been time-tested for over 2,000 years are worth a serious look.

“There is a re-emerging sense that tradition is important and that it is all not about me,” said Fr. Deacon Andrew Bennett, the faith communities program director for the Cardus think tank in Ottawa. “They see that this is a tradition that has brought about people who have dedicated themselves to following Jesus Christ. I think young people when they see what the world has to offer and they’re not buying it increasingly. They are looking for something that has a deep resonance and that allows them to encounter what is true, beautiful and good.”

American Catholic theologian Scott Hahn, a lecturer at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, also endorsed this sentiment, quoting the Scottish American philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, who once said: “I can only answer the question, ‘What am I to do?’ if I can answer the prior question, ‘Of what story do I find myself a part?’ ”

Hahn, the founder and president of the St. Paul Center, an apostolate that helps Christians grow in discipleship through Scripture reading, said people may try to answer MacIntyre’s questions by stating they are a part of their country’s story or one of a particular ethnic or social group. However, by adopting this stance, Hahn said “you understand why people come away with a sort of postmodern skepticism.”

The wisdom and stories in the Bible, Hahn said, circumvents the disillusionment that befalls those who choose to be a part of stories shaped by secular forces.

“There is a story and it involves all of us, and it isn't reducible to politics, to nationalisms, to ethnic tensions and this sort of thing,” said Hahn. “In fact, it's the only story that transcends all of them and unites all of these people by saying, it isn't just like there's one God. There is one God who's fathering us to be a family.”

Hahn has witnessed the bursting enthusiasm young people are exhibiting for God early in the New Year. He expected perhaps 300 youth would attend his talk at the Fellowship of Catholic University Students' SEEK25 conference (Jan. 1-5) in Salt Lake City, Utah, but he was greeted by a crowd of 3,500.

Both he and Noem also hailed the passion for God displayed by American Catholics young and old at last year’s 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Indiana, from July 14-17 as transformative and inspiring. Speakers at this event such as Fr. Mike Schmitz, who presents the Bible in a Year and Catechism in a Year podcasts, and Word on Fire’s Bishop Robert Barron have also been credited with playing a key role in the Bible’s revitalization.

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The question to ask among the Canadian Catholic community is if the phenomenon that has occurred in America can be replicated here. In addition to parents, Bennett said faith leaders and teachers all have a role to play in cultivating a love of the Gospel among the young.

Bennett specifically advises priests and bishops to “call people into a deeper relationship with the Word.” As for teachers, he said they must “courageously and without equivocation proclaim the Catholic faith” by choosing to “rededicate themselves to an evangelistic enterprise within the schools and into the world.”