THE eND OF hISTORY:

First, we can turn to the doctrine of "Sola Scriptura." This central claim of the Reformation said the Christian Bible was the highest authority on matters of faith and practice. The Reformation asserted the Bible's unique position against the Roman Catholic belief that church tradition held equal authority. Protestantism's theological stance enhanced the concept of the rule of law, especially fundamental written laws like constitutions, for it said that a set text could be authoritative, with human persons and organizations submitted to it: the church was the creation of Scripture and was ordered by it. We can see a parallel in the American government's relationship to the Constitution. America's institutions each engage in constitutional interpretation. But they all do so in pursuit of following its place as the "supreme law of the land."

Sola Scriptura also aided in the push for universal education. The need to read the Bible for oneself became imperative and thus increased the demand for literacy among more than just the upper echelons of society. Puritan New England, for instance, emphasized the need to teach all, including women, how to read for the sake of knowing their Bible. This massive expansion of who could read opened the door for increased political participation, both based on Biblical principles and on the increased capacity to read other documents besides Scripture, such as political pamphlets and newspapers.

In addition, the Reformation articulated the priesthood of all believers. This point argued that Christ, not human priests, is a Christian's only mediator to God. This claimed more direct access to God among professing believers and, thus, less hierarchy among persons. The equality of human beings before God naturally bolstered ideas of human equality in the political realm. This enhanced arguments that the people should be the ultimate human authority since no person was born, or otherwise made by God, superior to another. It also encouraged the passing of laws applicable in the same way to all. It should be no surprise, then, that popular governments arose in places like England and America that had strong Protestant identities.

Along similar lines, the Reformers also emphasized anew the concept of covenant. Covenants were binding agreements between parties, much like a contract, but with deeper, more sacred implications. Men like Luther, John Calvin, and others interpreted the Biblical story as one of God making a series of covenants with individual persons, groups, and, in Israel's case, a nation. In Exodus, the Hebrew people agree to be God's people and submit to His laws as their government. Politically, this reading of Scripture translated into social contract theory. That theory argued that legitimate governments are formed by the people agreeing among themselves and/or with a ruler on a state's purposes, procedures, and structures. This concept itself flowed from human equality, as it pegged consent of the governed as a necessary starting point for just rule by one human being over another.

Finally, we can tie the Reformation to the dignity of the common man and to the importance of one's home country. Regarding dignity, the Reformation introduced the concept of vocation, that God ordains and blesses all morally-upright work, not giving special status to holy orders. This understanding of vocation recognized dignity in all persons' work and carried political implications to codify that view into law. In our own time, when some tend to denigrate working-class jobs, this Reformation principle defends the dignity of all work and thus of all workers.

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