Is the Bible the most shoplifted book?

Question

Looking at several 'fun facts' pages, the claim of the Bible being the most shoplifted book appears on several of them. Example 1, Example 2, Example 3 Example 4

The Bible, the world's best-selling book, is also the world's most shoplifted book. Most are taken from hotel rooms.

I have not found any real sources to it, that the bible actually is the most stolen book.

Wikipedia article about shoplifting books

Ron Rosenbaum, an author and New York Observer columnist, wrote in 1999 that Barnes & Noble had a list of these authors whose books are the most frequently stolen from that book-store chain (or perhaps the Union Square store in the chain, where his source, "a helpful clerk", worked): Martin Amis, Paul Auster, Georges Bataille, William S. Burroughs, Italo Calvino, Raymond Chandler, Michel Foucault, Dashiell Hammett, Jack Kerouac, Jeanette Winterson, but none more frequently than books by Charles Bukowski.

Nowhere in the article is the Bible mentioned.

So what is it, IS the Bible the most shoplifted book? Is there any research done on the topic?

Answer 1

Your quote actually contains the explanation for the discrepancy. What is happening is that some of the examples are taking a slightly wider definition of 'shoplifting' than the clerk in the Wikipedia quote.

In many hotels throughout the world, you will find a copy of the Bible placed somewhere in the room. They are mostly placed by an organization called "Gideons International", whose intention is to make the Bible as widely available as possible, without cost. The first examples you are looking at are simply including Bibles taken from hotel rooms (of which there are, unsurprisingly,many) in the numbers of 'shoplifted' bibles. It's stretching the definition a little because the bibles aren't for sale, and Gideons are in fact happy for anyone who wants one to take one.

The other examples that don't include the Bible in the frequently shoplifted list exclude the ones taken from hotel rooms.

Answer 2

Apparently, it depends upon where you are:

Lynn Van Matre. Chicago Tribune (pre-1997) Chicago, Ill 31 Aug 1992

What the well-read thief is swiping these days

"Bibles are our No. 1 shoplifted book," lamented a spokesman for an independent Chicago chain. "Shoplifters can resell them right away on the street or `L' platforms."

Answer 3

Yes, or one of the most shoplifted books. As your forth example, the NYT article says:

At BookPeople in Austin, Tex., the rate of theft has increased to approximately one book per hour. I asked Steve Bercu, BookPeople’s owner, what the most frequently stolen title was.

“The Bible,” he said, without pausing.

and

As it turns out, Bibles are snatched even at the Parable Christian Store in Springfield, Ore., the manager told me, despite the fact that if a person asks for a Bible, they’ll be given a copy without charge.

In an earlier article by the NYT sevral small bookshop owners asked what are their most shoplifted books:

On both East Coast and West, the Beat poets Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski, Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs kept popping up as favorites among shoplifters. (In Britain, The Economist surveyed booksellers on thievery and found that the Beat poet Jack Kerouac was No. 1 choice.) Right behind the Beats comes the Bible.

and particular examples:

At Ventura Bookstore in Ventura, Calif., Kerouac's ''On the Road'' and Ginsberg's ''Howl!'' are at the top of the most-wanted lists as well as that old favorite, Abbie Hoffman's ''Steal This Book,'' said Ed Elrod, the owner. Tarot cards and how-to books, particularly sex manuals, are also popular. Even Bibles get taken, probably for use in marriage ceremonies, Mr. Elrod said.

At Powell's Book Store, in Portland, Ore., one of the largest chain stores, the general manager, Miriam Sontz, said that people who take books fall into two categories: those who steal on impulse and those who take books to sell for money. She said that people take books they would be ashamed to buy: books on cocaine cultivation, sex dysfunction or ''racy'' books for teen-agers. Bibles are also a favorite, she added, saying she does not know why.

At Green Apple Books and Music in San Francisco, the general manager, Pete Mulvihill, reports that current favorites for shoplifters included Bibles and books on philosophy.

There are other stores in that article that don't mention the bible as one of their best-stealer but there are a lot of stores where it is.

It also happens in libraries, as shown in this transcript of a segment from On the Media:

BROOKE GLADSTONE: One place where the book thief is more likely to read what he hath took is the public library, and library theft tends to lean toward the practical more than the popular; news you can use, so to speak - how-to books ranging from auto repair to divorce, how to ace the GEDs and The Joy of Sex, also anything - and this is from libraries across the country - anything to do with witchcraft, the occult, UFOs or astrology. And there are some other popular choices for the kleptomaniacally-inclined - the Bible, for instance. [SOUND OF RON ROSENBAUM LAUGHING]] Ron Rosenbaum.

LARRA CLARK: They do, actually. A couple of librarians, including one in Salt Lake City, she said that the Bible was their most frequently stolen book.

However, in hotels the phenomenon is less frequent, as shows this Article by Yahoo Travel, that lists the top 10 stolen items from Novotel hotels. The bible is not among them:

1. Towels
2. Cushions
3. Bathrobes
4. TV remote controls
5. Light bulbs
6. Mini-bar contents
7. Clothes hangers
8. Bathroom display trays
9. Coffee sachets
10. Plastic tissue boxes

_{I couldn't find any information on whether the Novotel hotels chain has Bibles in their hotels, if you have knowledge that they don't please comment it.}

The article doesn't say they are not stolen, it says that they are, but only by 1% of the guest

A survey from last year found that 86% of hotel guests had taken toiletries, as opposed to a mere 3% who admitted to stashing away bathrobes in their suitcase... and then there's the hard-core 1% who confessed to stealing electronics, silverware, and most worryingly, bibles!

a lot less than Towels and Bathrobes.