What We Believe (Apologia Worldview)

What We Believe is Apologia's four-volume worldview curriculum for upper elementary and middle school, written by John Hay and David Webb. It is one of the most widely adopted Christian-evangelical worldview programs in the homeschool market, used either as a family Bible spine or as a structured complement to Apologia's better-known science line.

Last updated: 2026-04-24 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Subject-specialist / literature- and narrative-based
Worldview	Christian-evangelical (broadly Protestant, Apologia Educational Ministries house posture)
Grades	3–8 (publisher recommends ages 6–14; the writing pitches strongest to grades 4–7)
Formats	Print textbook with optional companion notebooking journals
Cost tier	Standard
Parent intensity	3
ESA-common	Varies (treated as religious curriculum; eligibility tracks state rules)
Accredited	No
Established	First volume Who Is God? published 2009 (Apologia author bio)
Website	apologia.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	3	Substantive theology for the age range, but pitched for accessibility rather than scholarly depth
Ease of teaching	4	Read-aloud or independent; minimal prep; companion journal carries activity load
Content quality	4	Coherent four-volume sequence, well-edited, illustrated for the audience
Flexibility	3	Volumes are independent enough to skip or reorder; designed as a four-year sequence
Value for money	4	Mid-range pricing for hardback texts and substantial journals
Worldview scope	1	Explicitly Christian-evangelical worldview formation; not designed for non-Christian use
Visual/design	3	Clean illustration and layout; aesthetic typical of Christian publishing of its era
Support resources	3	Notebooking journals included as separate purchase; limited video or digital companions

Who the publisher is

Apologia Educational Ministries was founded in 1994 by Jay L. Wile, originally to publish the high school Exploring Creation science series that became one of the most widely used Christian homeschool science programs in the United States. The company expanded across the 2000s and 2010s into elementary science, language arts, and worldview curriculum, and is now owned by Apologia under its current ownership. The publisher's market identity is firmly Christian-evangelical; titles, framing, and editorial choices assume a believing-Christian household.

The What We Believe series was launched in 2009 with the publication of Who Is God? And Can I Really Know Him? by John Hay and David Webb. Hay and Webb were experienced Christian curriculum writers when the series began, and the four volumes were released over several years: Who Am I? And What Am I Doing Here?, Who Is My Neighbor? And Why Does He Need Me?, and What on Earth Can I Do? completed the sequence. The volumes are designed to be read sequentially across four years of upper-elementary and middle-school study, though many families also use them in non-sequential rotation.

The series sits inside Apologia's broader catalog as the worldview spine many families pair with the company's well-known science books. Within the Christian-evangelical homeschool market, the closest competitors include Lifepac Bible (AOP), Generations of Virtue worldview studies, and Master Books's worldview titles, but What We Believe has carved out a specific niche as the longer-form, narrative-heavy, journal-paired option.

The core pedagogy

What We Believe is built on a question-driven, narrative pedagogy rather than catechism-style memorization or proof-text Bible study. Each of the four volumes opens with a question, Who is God? Who am I? Who is my neighbor? What on earth can I do?, and walks the student through eight chapters of mid-length narrative chapters, each addressing a sub-theme with stories, biblical references, and reflective prompts. Hay and Webb write at an upper-elementary level with vocabulary that stretches a fourth-grader and meets a seventh-grader where they are.

The signature mechanic is the companion notebooking journal sold alongside each text. The journals contain copywork passages, fill-in chapter outlines, drawing pages, prayer prompts, mini-research questions, and Bible-passage write-outs. A family can use the textbook alone, read-aloud and discussion, but the publisher's intended pedagogy assumes the journal carries the active-learning load. Journals are sold in two versions: standard and junior (the junior journal has more drawing space and shorter writing prompts for younger users).

Other mechanics: (1) Memory verses and prayers anchor each chapter and are designed for family recitation; (2) mini-research and biography prompts ask the student to investigate a Christian historical figure or theological idea using outside sources; (3) discussion questions are written for parent-child dialogue rather than independent quiz answering. The four volumes do not assume any specific denomination beyond broad Protestant Christianity; the theology is mainstream evangelical and avoids tradition-specific debates (covenant theology vs. dispensationalism, paedobaptism vs. credobaptism, Reformed vs. Wesleyan, and so on).

A day in the life

A fifth-grader using What We Believe Volume 1 (Who Is God?) as a family Bible spine starts the day around 9:00 with a 10-minute read-aloud from the textbook, working through about half a chapter at a time. The student then moves to the companion notebooking journal for 20–30 minutes: completing the chapter outline, a copywork passage, the day's drawing prompt, and a brief written response to one discussion question. Two to three days per week, the parent leads a short family conversation around the day's content over coffee or breakfast. A weekly memory verse is recited at the start of the school day. Total daily time: 30–45 minutes, four to five days per week. Across a 32-week academic year, the family completes one volume.

A multi-age family, say, a fifth-grader and a third-grader, typically reads aloud together with the older child using the standard journal and the younger using the junior version, which keeps the pace shared while differentiating the writing load. Volumes work either as the sole Bible/worldview curriculum or as a four-day-per-week supplement to a fifth-day Bible reading or denominational catechism.

What they do exceptionally well

Sustained-narrative theology for elementary students. What We Believe writes at length about ideas. God's attributes, human identity, neighbor-love, cultural engagement, in a way that most elementary Bible curriculum does not attempt. Most peers at this age range run a verse-a-day, a story-and-question structure, or a topical workbook. Hay and Webb sustain a multi-page narrative argument and trust the reader to follow it. Families who want their middle-schooler to think theologically rather than just recite memory work usually find this is what they were looking for.

The journal genuinely earns its keep. Many notebooking-journal companions in the homeschool market are filler, fill-in lines around oversized illustrations. The What We Believe journals are tightly tied to the chapter content, ask substantive questions, and produce a notebook the student is proud of by year-end. Families who skip the journal and use only the textbook lose roughly half of what the program offers.

Written for the family, not for the classroom. The discussion questions and prayer prompts are pitched at parent-child conversation rather than at peer-to-peer classroom discussion. This is a real fit advantage in a homeschool context and a reason families often prefer it over Sunday-school-derived alternatives that translate awkwardly to a one-parent, one-child setting.

What they do poorly

The four-year arc is not optional in practice. Each volume is structured to build on themes introduced earlier, and the publisher's framing assumes a four-year sequential progression starting around grade three or four. A family that picks up Volume 3 (Who Is My Neighbor?) without prior context will encounter shorthand from earlier volumes that lands oddly. Skipping volumes weakens the program substantially.

The reading level is uneven across the audience. A precocious third-grader handles the prose; a struggling reader in seventh grade also handles it. The middle ground, a typical fifth- or sixth-grader, is the publisher's sweet spot. Outside that band, families either read aloud (younger end) or find the writing too elementary (older, advanced end). This is not a flaw so much as a limit on the published age claim.

The writing assumes a specific evangelical posture. Frame, examples, and assumed prior knowledge are evangelical-Protestant. A Catholic or Orthodox family using this program will find the saints, the sacraments, and the broader liturgical year absent in ways that would matter to their tradition. A secular family will find the program's premise unworkable. None of this is hidden, the publisher's catalog and About page make the positioning clear.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick What We Believe if: the family identifies as Christian-evangelical or broadly Protestant and wants a structured worldview curriculum for upper elementary or middle school; the family is already using or considering Apologia science and wants a matching Bible spine; the parent prefers narrative-driven theology over verse-by-verse Bible study at this stage; the household values a notebooking journal the student keeps as a record; the budget supports the textbook-plus-journal pairing.

• Skip What We Believe if: the family is Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran-confessional, Reformed, or any tradition whose distinctive theology matters to formation at this age; the family is secular or non-religious; the parent wants a denominational catechism rather than a generalized evangelical worldview text; the student is in K–2 (the program will not stretch down well) or in high school (the program will not stretch up well); the family resists the journal-and-text purchase and would not get the full program's value.

Cost honest assessment

The four What We Believe textbooks list at approximately $39 each (hardback) on the Apologia store as of April 2026, with the four-volume set running approximately $140–$155 when bundled. Companion notebooking journals run approximately $30–$35 per volume (standard or junior); the junior version is functionally equivalent in price. A complete one-volume bundle (text + standard journal) is approximately $65–$75; the full four-year program purchased upfront runs approximately $260–$300 per student.

Compared to BJU Press Bible at this grade range (approximately $100–$140 per grade for textbook plus tests), to Generations of Virtue worldview titles (approximately $25 each, no journal), or to a denominational catechism program such as The New City Catechism (free), What We Believe sits in the upper-middle of the worldview-curriculum market, premium for a Bible-and-worldview spine, mid-range for an Apologia product. Over four years, the all-in cost is roughly comparable to a single year of Sonlight Bible or a textbook-based science course.

ESA eligibility notes

What We Believe is religious curriculum. ESA eligibility for explicitly Christian Bible curriculum varies more sharply across state programs than secular subjects: Arizona's ClassWallet ESA and Florida's Step Up For Students generally permit religious curriculum; West Virginia's Hope Scholarship accepts most Christian publishers; some states restrict religious materials within an otherwise broad approval. Families should confirm Apologia is a registered vendor with their state ESA administrator and check whether the textbook-plus-journal pairing is reimbursed as a single purchase or as separate line items. Apologia's order workflow accepts ESA payments directly for marketplaces in which the publisher is listed.

Alternatives

• BJU Press Bible, a family would choose BJU over What We Believe because BJU's Bible curriculum runs K–12 with grade-specific scope-and-sequence and pairs naturally with a complete BJU language arts and science track, where Apologia's worldview line is a four-year sub-sequence rather than a K–12 spine.
• Generations of Virtue / Generations, a family would choose Generations titles over What We Believe because they target specific worldview themes (manhood and womanhood, work ethic, calling) at lower per-title cost and shorter time commitment, working well as add-ons rather than a four-year primary spine.
• The New City Catechism, a family would choose New City over What We Believe because it is a free, Reformed-Protestant catechism with a 52-question structure that fits well into a Sunday-and-weekday recitation rhythm, leaving the worldview reading slot open for a different program or family Bible reading.

How we verified this

Our editorial team reviewed the What We Believe series description and product pages on apologia.com, the available sample chapters from each of the four volumes, and the companion notebooking journal samples in April 2026. We cross-referenced against Cathy Duffy Reviews coverage of the What We Believe series and Apologia author bios. Volume publication dates and authorship verified through the publisher's product pages and the John Hay and David Webb author profiles in April 2026.