Specialty Bibles Target Groups

One of the great miracles of religious retailing is the selling of the Bible.

In a country that is saturated with Scripture (one survey found 98% of Americans own a copy), publishers have turned to an endless array of marketing gimmicks.

The latest is the specialty Bible, targeted at specific groups. Titles include: “Rappin’ With Jesus” (which transforms the plot to kill Christ into a drive-by shooting), “Path to Victory” (an athlete’s New Testament featuring pictures of former Dodger Orel Hershiser and room for autographs), the “Couples Devotional Bible,” the “Singing Bible,” the “Kid’s Comic Book Bible” and the “Woman’s Study Bible” (including notes on menopause and fertility).

“In a Baskin-Robbins society, people don’t want chocolate or vanilla. They want a special flavor that really suits their needs,” Christian Booksellers Assn. President Bill Anderson told Time magazine.

Still, the glut of editions pales next to the period between 1830 and 1860, which saw no fewer than 1,000 variations of God’s word in print, according to religion historian Colleen McDannell.