The YouVersion Bible App broke an all-time record for downloads on January 5th of this year. The app was launched in 2008 and set the previous record on the first Sunday of last year. New Year’s day was also a successful day for the app and was the 3rd best day on record. Bobby Gruenewald, sat down with journalists to discuss the success of his app.
This year, the YouVersion Bible App was downloaded 798,000 times in a single day. The founder of the app noted an annual “seasonal uptick in Bible engagement” around the New Year which he attributes to people adopting new habits and resolutions. He said, “What’s interesting is that this year’s increase is even higher than the same time last year, and it’s a trend we’re seeing globally.”
The app grew the most in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Ethiopia surged the most at 198 percent. Egypt followed closely at 94 percent. Other prominent nations were Turkey (74 percent), Ghana (65 percent), and Pakistan (48 percent). The North Africa region recorded an overall increase of 297 percent, while the Middle East saw a 166 percent rise.
The app offers Bible translations, daily scriptures, and reading plans in over 2,100 languages. It is one of the most popular religious apps with over 850 million downloads worldwide. This seems to be part of a wider trend. As we reported last year, Bible Sales are up 22% compared to last year. Total book sales are up only 1% at the same time. Bible sales hit a five-year low of under 8.9 million in 2020, according to data. Sales surpassed 13.7 million in the first 10 months of this year. This deifies conventional wisdom, as polls indicated the country has never been less religious. According to Gallup, the share of Americans identifying with a Christian religion hit a low of 68% last year.
One woman told her story to Fox News Digital. She described watching a documentary about “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson. “He pulled out his Bible and … you could tell he’d had it for decades and decades. It was just held together with duct tape,” she said. She began to imagine having her own Bible that she could pass down for generations, filled with highlights and notes that her children could read and “see how the Lord spoke to me through it.”
One industry analyst spoke about this trend. “The religion book market has been a bright spot of growth within the total book market since the pandemic,” said Brenna Connor. “Bibles are leading that growth, but other subjects like Christian Life and Biblical Studies are also up, reflecting increased interest for Christian subjects in the U.S.”
Bishop Robert Barron explains the issue. “Some people, sure they’re not going back to church, but they are reaching out to the Bible,” he said. Let’s face it, the Bible has been — certainly for Western civilization, but even all over the world — the main source of meaning, purpose, value,” Barron explained. “I think people are turning back to the Bible in greater numbers because they’re looking for that, and they realize instinctively they’re going to find it.”
“I think in the beginning some people thought, ‘Oh, great. Stick it to the man, and I’m against religion.‘ But when you take that message in, what are you left with? It’s a complete nihilism,” Barron said, adding that he hasn’t been surprised by rising rates of mental health issues, particularly among young people. “That’s what happens when you say there’s no meaning or purpose.”