Marx uses Bauer's essay as an occasion for his own analysis of liberal rights. Marx argues that Bauer is mistaken in his assumption that in a "secular state", religion will no longer play a prominent role in social life. As an example, he refers to the pervasiveness of religion in the United States, which, unlike Prussia, had no state religion. In Marx's analysis, the "secular state" is not opposed to religion, but rather assumes it. The removal of religious or property qualifications for citizenship does not mean the abolition of religion or property, but rather naturalizes both and introduces a way of regarding individuals in abstraction from them.