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Best secular homeschool math curriculum

Some families specifically want math with no religious content at all. These programs teach the material without a faith perspective woven in.

Updated September 2026 · 31 programs compared · rankings from our published scoring rules

What matters for secular families

Secular doesn't mean anti-religious. It simply means the lesson content and word problems don't carry a faith worldview, which is what most parents mean when searching for a "secular" program.

Most popular programs are secular. Singapore, Math-U-See, Saxon, Math Mammoth, Beast Academy and the major online programs all teach with no religious content, so secular families still have a wide range of teaching styles to choose from.

Watch for optional add-ons. A few programs, like Miacademy, mention optional Bible electives available alongside the core secular math course; those are add-ons, not part of the required lessons.

Our top 6 for secular families

1. Singapore Math (Dimensions)

   Concrete → pictorial → abstract, taught mastery-style

   • No religious content
   • Watch for: teacher-intensive, not open-and-go
   Grades PreK–8Mastery, conceptualCost: About $103 per grade for textbooks, workbooks and home guides (A and B)Free placement tests →

2. Beast Academy

   Comic-book lessons and hard puzzles from Art of Problem Solving

   • No religious content
   • Watch for: too hard for many kids
   Grades ~Grades 1–5Problem solvingCost: $100 a year online, or about $120 for a level of books ($160 for both)Free placement tests →

3. Saxon Math

   Incremental lessons with daily mixed review, textbook style

   • No religious content
   • Watch for: dry, no-frills presentation
   Grades K–12Spiral / incrementalCost: About $152 for a homeschool kit (Saxon 5/4); textbook is reusableFree placement tests →

4. Math Mammoth

   Affordable, visual worktexts that explain each concept right on the page

   • No religious content
   • Watch for: busy, text-heavy pages
   Grades 1–7Mastery, conceptualCost: About $27 per grade as a download (K–4 bundle $133); reprint pages for siblingsFree placement tests →

5. Teaching Textbooks

   Self-paced online lessons that teach, check and grade every problem

   • No religious content
   • Watch for: runs about a grade behind
   Grades 3–12 (Math 3 to Pre-Calc)Screen-based, independentCost: $48.95 per student for a 12-month enrollment (Math 3); other levels priced separatelyFree placement tests →

6. RightStart Math

   Abacus-based lessons and hundreds of card games for strong number sense

   • No religious content
   • Watch for: high start-up cost
   Grades K–8Hands-on, abacusCost: First year costs more: about $225–$240 the first year with manipulatives; about $100 in later yearsFree placement test →

Programs that often don't suit secular families

Generations Math (religious content throughout); Apologia Math (religious content throughout); Rod & Staff Math (religious content throughout). They can still work for some families; the reasons are in each program's reviews.

Questions parents ask

What does secular mean for a math curriculum?

It means the lessons, examples and word problems don't include religious content or a faith worldview. The math itself is the same arithmetic, fractions and algebra taught anywhere.

Are most homeschool math programs secular or religious?

Both are common. Reddit and homeschool forums lean toward recommending secular programs, but Christian publishers make up a large share of the market, so it's worth checking each program's faith content directly rather than assuming.

Is a secular program the same as a public-school curriculum?

Not necessarily. Secular just means no religious content; a program can still be classical, Charlotte Mason, mastery or spiral, and unrelated to how public schools teach.

How this list is made: each program is scored against the needs above using features documented in parent reviews and publisher materials (sources are listed in each program's profile). It's a starting point, not medical or educational advice.