political philosophy coincided with the Protestant reformation. The reformation introduced the concept of political obligation on the part of individuals. The result was a strong affirmation of the obligation of humanity to natural law above political law. It, in effect, legitimized political dissent--the right to resist political authority that is contrary to the individual's concept of natural law. It is a concept with which political authorities have been contending ever since.
Since the reformation, many efforts have been made to incorporate natural law into political law in many societies. In some societies, efforts have been made to claim such an incorporation, without actually faithfully interpreting natural law. In the twentieth-century, other societies have attempted to remove the vestiges of natural law from political law. The controversies over natural law are almost as strong in the United States in the 1990s, as they were in European countries immediately subsequent to the reformation. Thomas Hobbes contr
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