Catholic Education in Mexico: The Role of Educational Pastoral Ministry in the Normative Context of Secularism

Abstract

This paper examines Catholic education in Mexico, tracing its historical antecedents and formative roots, and considering its evolution from the colonial era, through independence and liberal reforms, to the consolidation of the secular state and 20th-century regulations on religious freedom and education. Within this context, it analyzes the tensions and possibilities that emerge in the relationship between Church and State, particularly in the contemporary scenario marked by the 2016 educational reform and the principle of secularism.

From a theological-pastoral perspective, the study delves into the foundation of educational pastoral care as the central axis of Catholic educational identity, in light of the Magisterium and in dialogue with the national education system. Given that Religious Education in Schools (ERE) is not formally incorporated into the public curriculum in Mexico, educational pastoral care is proposed as a viable formative medium for faith formation, capable of respectfully integrating into pluralistic contexts.

Finally, continuities and transformations of Catholic education in the 21st century are identified, highlighting its capacity for adaptation, its commitment to integral formation and its potential to generate spaces for dialogue, meaning and transcendence in the contemporary educational context.