Date

1-14-2026

Department

Helms School of Government

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy (PhD)

Chair

Jesse A. Chupp

Keywords

Covenant, contract, moral law, eminent domain, and national security.

Disciplines

Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Abstract

Modern secular society has replaced religious understandings of obligation with legal contracts in which the state acts as the final arbiter. The purpose of this document analysis is to explore how the Christian concept of covenant was gradually replaced by secular legal contracts during the Reformation and Enlightenment, and how this shift influences modern views on eminent domain and national security policy. This dissertation was guided by Social Contract Theory. The following research question guided this study: What patterns from a document analysis reveal how the Christian idea of covenant was replaced by secular contract theory during the Reformation and Enlightenment, and how the shift shape today’s views on eminent domain and national security? The independent variables were historical–theological mechanisms embedded in Christian covenantal thought, including divine authority, moral obligation, and communal accountability, while the dependent variable is the emergence of modern contractual legal structures as reflected in contemporary public policy. This trajectory reshaped Western political thought and established legal and ideological frameworks that continue to influence modern practices of eminent domain and national security policy. The findings reveal a clear transformation in the foundations of governance, property, and authority across three cases: the Mosaic covenant in ancient Israel, contractual legitimacy in post-Reformation Europe, and the constitutional codification of Lockean principles in the United States. Over time, the Christian concept of covenant, grounded in divine sovereignty and moral obligation, gave way to secular contract theory, redefining governance through consent, property as an alienable right, and authority as procedural. This shift reshaped Western political thought and continues to influence contemporary approaches to eminent domain and national security policy.

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