Religion has been credited with creating trust in our prehistoric human societies, eventually leading to social/economic growth. Social politics and personal ethics which enabled this growth were regulated by religious dictums. These religious doctrines were propagated in time and space by religious myths. Human societies coevolved with their religions, both affecting each other. Today, we find the ancient religions anachronistic because they don't correspond to our social realities. Seldom are they consistent with the prevalent scientific knowledge. However, the need to regulate political and personal ethics of people remains, as we still are a society made of individuals with multitudes of varying and frequently competing interests. Secular ethics appear to believe that we can arrive at the "good moral code" without having to resort to an all powerful and supernatural arbiter of justice. This belief is no more logical than a belief in God, I think. That is, there is no apparent reason why secular ethics should work better than ethics that are predicated on existence of God. I am not advocating for God or organized religion, but asking this question: our society (regardless of where you are) is extremely affected by our religious history. Can we excise only the bad parts of religion's effects (for example, irrational beliefs in God, or close mindedness) without losing the good parts religion has conferred to our societies?

PS: here is a relevant Wiki article
[en.wikipedia.org]