He referred it to the Declaration of independence
At the time, most rulers were Catholic and believed that the Pope had influence over all of them. And to top all of that, Roman Catholicism was the only Christian religion at the time.
The theme in Creon's word is pride. He creates a law believing that it is a divine will. It is his way to display the punishable pride that any man is no match to the divine right. Then he realizes his mistakes and in return, grieves the loss of his family.
"Countries with a sphere of influence should maintain free access to their ports"
