Must watch that.

It's inevitable, but if a society grew out of it, I don't think there'll be any reason to invent it back.

True while many are morals can come from either the need to survive or as sapphi_snake said 'Greek philosophers' it is religious that spread these morals and religion that put them down in writing for generations to follow. 

Take examples from differing faiths. Older faiths would regularly do sacrifices both human and animal, while in our western society which is based on mostly old testament laws and morals we would see these as morally bad, in those faiths at those times, a sacrifice may not have been as seen as bad but something to 'please the gods'. It is the faiths and religions that are defining what is moral.

It is recently when atheism has taken hold that many of those morals, like sacrifice was seen by newer/old testament faiths and others as more barbaric and immoral, that what the faiths see as immoral just aren't anymore as defined by understanding.

the fact they comitted a crime and they are in prison

"Morals" is at best a waste of time in a world with no God. If there is no God(or even gods), then we really are just lumps of flesh brought about by a random(and lucky) sequence of events billions of years ago. We are then just animals who think at a more advanced level. If all this is true, then the idea of "morals" is just that, an idea. If there is no God, we answer to noone. And who is anyone to tell me how to think, feel, and act? What authority do they have over me, or I over them.

I agree,I think relgion divides and hurt's people,more than it helps them. Think of all the wars between different religions. Everybody thinks there religions are the right one.

I would argue that this is completely false. All humans everywhere created religion as early as they were able to wander at the sun and lightning. Still probably at the same time they had morals. Later, the beings they worshiped were credited with laws, since people better follow laws that are decreed by someone who can command rains, than the old village chief of the parents of the young adult student of what's right and what's wrong. So morals were just added to religion, it didn't spread morals anywhere.

As far as religions spreading a NEW moral code to a new region, it seams more like the common sense morals were already there, while the higher "Church" directed morals replaced the old "Church" directed morals. Take Mayan vs Spanish religions. Mayans beheaded humans to their gods, while the Spanish tortured and burned humans because of their god. The rest was there more or less.

Edit: The above is only valid as a debate argument with religious people who believe in old earth creationism.

Well, I don't know how I should react to these, quite stereotypical, comments. They sound so naive to me. Sorry, no offence =) And I'm an atheist if it concerns you.

//I'd suggest both of you to read some M.Khazin (an economist mostly known for predicting of global economic crisis in 2000-2001) on his "Global Projects" thing (some sort of civilization theory), but too bad he was never published in English.

Well, I don't know how I should react to these, quite stereotypical, comments. They sound so naive to me. Sorry, no offence =) And I'm an atheist if it concerns you.

They are not.