Our Holy Faith Series

Name: Our Holy Faith Series
Brand: TAN Bookshttps://tanbooks.com/

by TAN Bookshttps://tanbooks.com/

Religious_studiesGrades 1–8

Our Holy Faith Series: Traditional Catholic Catechetical Curriculum

Our Holy Faith Series is a traditional Catholic religious education curriculum for grades 1-8 published by TAN Books, featuring revised content from earlier Neumann Press editions. The series emphasizes Baltimore Catechism instruction with Scripture from the Douay-Rheims Bible, incorporating both ordinary and extraordinary forms of Catholic liturgy.

Best for

Catholic homeschool families seeking traditional catechetical instruction with parents who have sufficient theological background to guide discussions and determine implementation strategies

Evaluation Criteria

2 strengths · 1 concern · 3 neutral

Vocabulary BuildingStrength

The series includes explicit religious vocabulary instruction through 'Terms to Know' sections and catechism questions with answers.

Books Six through Eight add 'lists of Terms to Know within each chapter' and all books include 'catechism questions and answers related to the lesson material'

Theological KnowledgeStrength

The series builds systematic theological knowledge through comprehensive coverage of Catholic doctrine, sacraments, and moral teaching across all grade levels.

Covers 'the nature of God, the sacraments, angels, various types of sin, virtues,' 'The Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, the laws of the Church, prayer,' and includes 'significant content from the Baltimore Catechism volumes'

Teacher TrainingConcern

The curriculum lacks comprehensive teacher training materials, requiring parents to make independent decisions about implementation and memorization requirements.

Review states 'There are no separate teacher guides, so parents need to decide how much memorization of catechism questions to require'

Direct InstructionNeutral

The curriculum provides structured instructional content with clear explanations, summaries, and guided activities, though it lacks separate teacher guides.

Each lesson includes 'instructional text with illustrations, a summary of key points, and For Me To Do suggestions' with 'answer keys provided at the back of each book,' but 'there are no separate teacher guides'

Historical ContextNeutral

The curriculum provides some historical context through Bible survey and salvation history, but the emphasis appears more doctrinal than historical.

Book Seven 'teaches key events from the Old Testament leading up to the coming of Jesus' and Book Two 'tells the story of salvation,' though most books focus on doctrinal rather than historical content

Primary Text EngagementNeutral

The curriculum incorporates Scripture verses from the Douay-Rheims Bible and draws extensively from the Baltimore Catechism, but the extent of direct student engagement with primary texts is unclear.

Uses 'Scripture verses from the Douay-Rheims 1989 American Edition of the Bible' and 'catechism questions and answers are now taken from the TAN edition of The Third Council of Baltimore: Baltimore Catechism 1-4'

Sources: cathyduffyreviews.com