While gym memberships and diet plans often top New Year’s resolution lists, a growing number of Americans are choosing a more profound goal: reading the entire Bible in a year.
If you’ve set out to do this, you’re in select company. Estimates suggest only 13-20% of Americans have completed the feat. But that number is expected to rise, as early data shows a significant surge of people committing to the challenge in 2026.
This trend is reflected in Bible sales, which rose 11% in 2025 with more than 18 million sold. Those numbers should surpass the 20-year-high reached the year prior. So many people are picking up the Bible now.
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According to Dr. Corné Bekker, Dean of Divinity at Regent University, it’s a response to cultural instability and a deep hunger for truth.
“I do think increasingly, our world is falling apart. The foundations of our society are being eroded at a record speed – and people are longing for that which is eternally true, that which is ancient, that which is unchanging,” said Dr. Bekker.
Yet planning to read scripture and finishing the Bible are two different things. Of the 2.2 million people who started a year-long plan on the YouVersion Bible App this year, it’s predicted that only 1 in 5 will finish.
As for Dr. Bekker, he’s among a select group of individuals who’ve read the Bible several hundred times, and roughly three times each year – saying each read-through brings him to a deeper reverence for God.
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