In 2014, more than 52 million religious book titles were sold in the U.S, representing an increase of over 10.5% from the prior year. Comparing this to the 2.4% increase for the overall book market, religion is outperforming the market as a whole.

And yet, 2015 has seen tremendous upheaval in the form of the Family Christian bankruptcy news, rapidly shifting purchasing behaviors, and a complicated media environment. Sales in the first half of this year have slowed since last year, as adult nonfiction sales were -3.72% in the first 25 weeks and adult fiction sales were up just 6.4%.

We believe the best way to deal with a market in flux is to get under the hood and understand the detail – starting with the consumer.

This mini-report represents a quick snapshot of the market, the different subgenres in the Christian book market, and how they are changing.

A Look at Who’s Buying Bibles

圣经是基督教图书市场的重要组成部分。与基督教图书的整体购买趋势不同，大多数圣经购买者是男性（58%），80%的购买者年龄在 45 岁以下。他们在网上也很活跃，45% 的《圣经》购买者每天都会在社交媒体上发布信息。