The French and American Revolutions harnessed the ideas which the enlightenment wrote and discussed. The French Revolution exemplified the early stages of nationalism. Nationalism derives from a grouping of people who share common cultural and social experiences. From nationalism the concept of self-determination is derived. The inception of positive law was the last and final blow to the concept of religion.
Positive law is fashioned and codified by man.
The law has replaced the concept of morality. The framework which laws create make the state and its sovereign powers legitimate and legal. States no longer operate in terms of what is just but on whether the legality for the action or jurisdiction have application. The evolution of the state and its sovereignty is clear. The Church once being a dominant political factor has been reduced to a mere whisper of advice.