The Roman Catholic Church was the mainstay of royal absolutism in Europe. Sure, people like Covarruvias and Mariana worked out a rule of law doctrine, but Mariana ultimately ran afoul of the Inquisition, while early Calvinist theorists of social contract and rule of law (Buchanan, Hotman, Beza, Knox, Rutherford, Goodman, Ponet, Marnix van Sint Aldegonde, and Althusius) would be "saints" if the Reformed Churches had such a category. Carlos_7, you've nailed a problem: corruption in the churches. We need a major spiritual revival, and it needs to be specifically and unabashedly Clavinistic.