High School Theology Textbook Series
Our high school religion textbook series offers you time-saving, fully-developed lesson plans that support your efforts to create an engaging learning environment in your classroom. As high school teachers, we’ve been in your shoes, so we understand that nobody knows your classroom like you do. That’s why the modular format of our teacher’s guides enables you to use the lessons we provide, or replace them with what you’ve seen work in your classroom.
Questions? Contact us or call (800) 888-9344
What makes Spirit of Truth unique?
Spirit of Truth is a refreshing resource that lightens your burdens while helping you lead your students to a profound encounter with Christ. Here is what makes Spirit of Truth unique:
You’re in control
Our teacher’s guides are designed to give you complete control over how you teach. You can use the modular lessons and activities our team of high school teachers have developed, or you can substitute your own lessons whenever and however you want.
Student texts are challenging, yet accessible
We carefully crafted our student textbooks to be both readable and academically-challenging. Our textbooks help students see that the Catholic Faith not only makes sense but leads them to live a virtuous life in service to God and one another.
You’ll save time
We provide a fully-developed, interactive lesson for each day of the school year, which includes readings, critical thinking questions, discussion points, sacred art reflections, saint stories, primary source excerpts, answer keys, and much more.
You’ll lead your students on a spiritual journey
While it’s important for your students to understand the principles of the Faith, Spirit of Truth is designed to help them internalize the Faith and apply it to their own lives. The results are students with strong foundations and tools for their current and future spiritual growth.
Questions? Contact us or call (800) 888-9344
Free Resources Included with Spirit of Truth
What students learn by course
Course I
The Revelation of Christ in Scripture
Students will gain knowledge and appreciation of Sacred Scripture from the Old Testament to the New Covenant in Christ, as well as the early Church. Includes a special focus on the Gospels where students will meet Jesus Christ and develop a deeper Faith in Him.
Students will be led to deeply understand the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, the living Word of God. They’ll learn who He is and what he calls each of them to be.
Course II
Encountering Christ
This course introduces students to the Blessed Trinity in and through the fullness of God’s revelation of Himself: Jesus Christ. They will study the Incarnation, the union of Christ’s two natures, Jesus as the exemplar of humanity, as well as the unique role of Mary, the mother of God.
This course prepares students to overcome the challenges of Faith, and leads them to a more profound understanding of what it means to believe.
Course III
The Paschal Mystery
In this course, students will enter into the Paschal Mystery of Christ – His Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension – and learn about how it is the fulfillment of God’s promise of redemption made to us after the Fall. They will also learn how the Church calls us to participate in the Paschal Mystery in our own lives.
Course IV
The Church is Christ’s Living Body
Students will learn the origin, foundation, and manifestation of the Catholic Church, established by Jesus Christ during His earthly life to continue His saving mission until the end of time. Through their exploration of the Church, students will consider various images of the Church, the four marks of the Church, and the role of the Church in the life of the believer.
Course V
The Sacraments
In this course students will discover how Christ is present to us in and through the Sacraments of the Church, especially in the Eucharist, which is Christ’s Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. They will systematically explore each of the seven Sacraments to better understand the essential elements and effects of each as well as how each is celebrated and lived in our daily lives.
Course VI
The Moral Life In Christ
This course will introduce students to the moral teaching of the Catholic Church with the goal of inviting them to live a moral life in Christ. Students will learn about every person’s deep desire for God that is written in our hearts and God’s plan to bring us true happiness by living as He created us to live. They will also explore the meaning of law, the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ great commandments, Jesus moral teaching and example, the reality of sin, the relationship between human freedom and conscience, and the various helps God gives to us by His grace and through the Church.
Option A:
Sacred Scripture
This course presents an overview of Sacred Scripture with a focus on providing a clear framework for understanding the narrative of Salvation History, and the development of basic principles of biblical interpretation. While an in depth study of every book of the Bible is beyond the scope of a semester course, key books, events, and figures are examined in detail with an emphasis on Jesus Christ and His Paschal Mystery as the culmination of God’s plan of salvation and the interpretive key for understanding both the Old and New Testaments.
Option B:
The History of the Catholic Church
Students will explore the history of the Catholic Church beginning with her origins in the beginning of time and institution during the earthly life of Christ, to the period of rapid growth in the apostolic era and the centuries that followed, through the rise and fall of nations, kingdoms, and Empires over the course of two millennia, to the present day. They will come to understand that the Church is Christ’s living Body present and active in the world, proclaiming the Good News of salvation anew to every time and culture, and working to sanctify the human race.
Option C:
Catholic Social Teaching
Students will learn of the body of doctrine collectively known as Catholic Social Teaching, which proposes principles for integrating the truth of the Catholic Faith into society in pursuit of justice, peace, and the common good. This course will provide an overview of this teaching, with a focus on developing an understanding of human dignity, justice, and charity in the various spheres of human life, as well as the social dimensions of the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes.
Option D:
Your Vocation in Christ
God calls every person to a vocation in life. All are called live a life of holiness in imitation of Christ, and each of us is called to a permanent state in life by which we are to live out our call to holiness in service to others: marriage, ordained priesthood, or consecrated religious life. This course will help students discover each of these vocations and begin to discern God’s calling in their own lives.
Option E:
Christ’s Church & World Religions
This course examines various major world religions through a lens of comparison to the Catholic Faith with the goal of strengthening students’ own Catholic faith. Students will come to understand what the Church teaches regarding salvation and how the Church relates to non- Catholic Christian faiths and other non-Christian faith traditions. They will come to recognize not only important ways Catholicism and other world religions differ, but also the presence of reflections of truth, goodness, and beauty present in different religious traditions and how those reflections can serve as seeds for the Gospel message.
Questions? Contact us or call (800) 888-9344
Frequently Asked Questions
Beauty disposes us to the divine, and sacred art helps lead students to love what is good, beautiful, and true. Art can be viewed and appreciated by all students, whatever their grade, reading ability, personal background, or level of sophistication.
In almost all cases, the sacred art selected for our curriculum was chosen from the public domain. All art, including that created by Renaissance masters and other influential and well-known artists, reflects a certain culture, time-period, and place. While these images may not immediately represent our current culture, time-period, or place, they do invite us to a deeper contemplation of the universal nature of beauty, and thus, God Himself, who is Beauty, Truth, and Goodness. And there is a reason we still marvel at these great masterworks from centuries ago: as products of their historical and cultural context—the European Renaissance—they have uniquely captured universal and timeless beauty and are singular examples of excellence in art.
From the beginning of the Church, the faithful have depicted Jesus and the Holy Family as members of their own race or ethnicity. This is beautiful, because Jesus, who became man at a particular time and place, assumed a human nature in order to offer redemption to all of humanity. Depending on the cultural makeup of your classroom, it may be beneficial from time-to-time to supplement the selected artwork with images that may be better reflections of your own students’ experiences.
No, they are free! Some lessons in our textbooks suggest the use of free catechetical Sophia SketchPad videos. These five-to-seven-minute videos use whiteboard animation to blend visual and auditory learning with engaging storytelling. You won’t find a more effective tool for explaining difficult to understand theological concepts to your students!
Unless otherwise noted, the translation of the Bible used in all our textbooks is the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), because this is the translation of Scripture that is proclaimed at Mass. It is important for students to be able to begin to make connections between what happens in religion class and the liturgy of the Catholic Church.
Although many activities can and should certainly be done by students on their own, we do not recommend students work independently, but rather with a teacher, catechist or parent to present and guide the activity. Our curriculum is different from the typical textbooks because the Teacher’s Guide and Student Workbook work together to present full, interactive, and engaging lesson plans. Note that a student workbook purchased alone will not make sense to the student. Be sure to review both the directions for the teacher and the student activities.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, “‘The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerated the Body of the Lord’ (DV 21): both nourish and govern the whole Christian life” (CCC 141). As Catholics, we believe that we receive the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. We also believe that we truly encounter the Person of Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God, in Scripture — the Word of God in written form. Therefore, Scripture is a powerful and essential teaching tool.Even though teaching with Scripture can be challenging, it is one of the best and most accessible ways we have to help students encounter Jesus in the classroom. Every step of the way, we help you help your students engage with the Word of God in age appropriate ways. Teaching with Scripture brings to life the story of our Faith in new and exciting ways that invite students into deeper relationship with Christ.
