This paper approaches the subject of violence in relation to political power proceeding from the concepts of secularism and secularization. It builds on the groundwork established by a number of studies and theories on secularism.  These concepts allow the construction of a theoretical paradigm for the measurement of the extent of space available in a given society for peaceable power struggle, through knowledge of the degree of secularism inherent in the tools of contention for power, and of the nature of the resources mobilized by the contenders. Through studying the Algerian state, the political factors that produced the violence of one-party rule (1962-1990) are taken into account, as well as the violence of the subsequent period of party pluralism. Through this example the paper concludes that the study of violence must always consider the extent or degree of secularization exhibited in the historical context in which the violence occurs, otherwise the researcher falls into ethno-centric discourse with pretensions to being scientific.