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Online Bible reading increased by 20 percent last year

Online Bible reading increased by 20 percent last year
Illustration image of girl texting on mobile phone.Photo: Wilma Nora Dorthellinger Nygaard / NTB scanpix

While the sales of printed Bibles is at rest, reading the Bible online is increasing sharply.

According to newspaper Dagen, which states that the Bible Society last year sold 52,000 printed Bibles and partial Bibles, a slight decline from 2018 when they sold 53,000 Bibles.

“The figures say that there is a steady demand for Bibles,” says General Secretary Paul Erik Wirgenes of the Bible Society.

At the same time, it offers a free online version of the Bible, and it is steadily gaining in popularity. Wirgenes says it’s a general social development, that’s how people use mobile and apps now.

– “I see at meetings and services that more and more people are following the Bible text on their mobile.”

– “Many thousands get today’s Bible words on email, social media or SMS. Many of them want to read today’s text on a bus or tram. Then it’s easier to pick up a cell phone than a Bible,” he says.

According to Dagen, surveys show a strong increase in digital Bible reading in all age groups, even among the elderly, although the younger generation uses the Internet Bible the most.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today

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