✝ Catholic Treasury Network

Course · Years 10–12 and beyond

The Faith Explained

What does the Catholic Church actually teach, why, and how sure can we be?

Start with Unit 1 Guide for teachers

The eleven units

Unit 1 How Theology Works How do we know what God has revealed? Where Catholic teaching comes from: revelation, Scripture and Tradition, the Magisterium, faith, and the difference between dogma and opinion. 5 lessons Unit 2 God Can we know God exists, and what is he like? That God's existence can be known by reason, Aquinas's Five Ways, and what reason and revelation say about God's nature, knowledge and providence. 4 lessons Unit 3 The Blessed Trinity How can God be one and three? One God in three Persons: what the Church teaches, how the Persons are distinct, and what difference the Trinity makes. 3 lessons Unit 4 Creation, Man and the Fall Why is there anything, and what went wrong? Creation from nothing, the angels, the human person as body and soul, and original sin. 4 lessons Unit 5 Jesus Christ, True God and True Man Who is Jesus? Christ's divinity, his full humanity, the union of the two natures in one Person, and his birth and resurrection. 4 lessons Unit 6 Redemption What did Christ do on the Cross? Why God became man, what the Cross achieved, and why the Resurrection matters as much as Good Friday. 3 lessons Unit 7 Mary, Mother of God Why does Mary matter so much? The four Marian dogmas, each of them really a teaching about Christ, and Mary's place in the Church. 3 lessons Unit 8 Grace How does God change us from within? The necessity of grace, grace and freedom, justification as inner renewal, and merit. 4 lessons Unit 9 The Church Why a Church, and why this one? The Church founded by Christ, Peter and the bishops, the four marks, and "outside the Church no salvation". 4 lessons Unit 10 The Sacraments How does Christ act in the world now? What a sacrament is, Baptism and Confirmation, the Real Presence, the Mass as sacrifice, and the sacraments of healing and service. 5 lessons Unit 11 The Last Things What happens after we die? Death and judgement, heaven and purgatory, hell, and the resurrection of the body at the end of the world. 4 lessons

What this course is

The Faith Explained takes you through the teachings of the Catholic faith as one connected whole. For each teaching it asks three questions: what exactly does the Church teach, where does that teaching come from, and how certain is it?

It is written for students in Years 10 to 12, and for anyone else who wants a clear path through Catholic doctrine: parents, homeschooling families, and adults returning to the faith. No previous study of theology is needed.

There are 44 lessons in 11 units, plus a final lesson that draws everything together. At one lesson a week the course takes about a school year.

How it fits with Religion class

This course does not replace your school’s Religion program. Religion class covers a great deal this course leaves aside: Scripture study, prayer and liturgy, Church history, the moral life and social teaching, and other religions.

What this course adds is the systematic side of the faith. It sets out what the Church has defined, shows the Scripture and Tradition behind it, and labels how firmly each teaching is held. Every lesson cites the Catechism of the Catholic Church, so you can always check it against what you learn at school.

How to use it

On your own. Work through the units in order. Each lesson takes about 30 to 40 minutes to read and think through. Try the questions at the end before opening the answers.

In a class or group. Teachers will find a page of notes for each unit, with timing, discussion questions and the answers. Start with the guide for teachers.

Alongside the philosophy course. Several teachings, such as the Trinity, the Incarnation and the Eucharist, depend on ideas from philosophy. Where they do, the lesson says so and points to the Catholic Philosophy course. You don’t have to do the philosophy course first, but it helps.

How each lesson works

Every lesson follows the same seven steps:

  1. The big question: the question you would actually ask.
  2. What the Church teaches: the teaching in a sentence or two, with how certain it is.
  3. Where it comes from: the key Scripture passages and witnesses from the early Church.
  4. How theologians explain it: a short explanation drawing on St Thomas Aquinas and the classic manuals.
  5. Philosophy bridge: where an idea from philosophy is needed.
  6. What the Church does not claim: common misunderstandings, corrected.
  7. Check your understanding: a few questions, then links to go deeper.

Before you start Unit 2, read the short page on how sure we are. It explains the labels, such as de fide, that appear on every lesson. The glossary explains the technical words.

Where the material comes from

The lessons draw on the same sources as the rest of this site: Pohle-Preuss’s Dogmatic Theology, Glenn’s Tour of the Summa, Wilhelm and Scannell’s Manual, Walshe’s Principles of Catholic Apologetics, and the councils and popes. Scripture is quoted from the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition.

Each lesson links to the full treatment in the tracts for anyone who wants to go further.