The modern state is an articulation rather than a cause of secularization

Evidence

I therefore look briefly at the wider context of cultural change and Islamic reform, and I point to the importance of the modern state for these developments. In this context the state is not a cause but an articulation of secularization. — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 995

Categorization

• DEFINE: The state-as-articulation-not-cause framing is a useful definitional tool for separating secularization’s institutional dimension from its causes.