Either way the outcome is the same. Torah enshrined for a people trusting relationships between individuals. A man could trust that an unrelated man would do as he said he would do. Not that trust was always rewarded but it was the norm from which other outcomes were exceptions. No other religion that did not derive from Torah has that component. Islam has that only within Islam and even Islam derives from Torah. Atheism cannot support a state that does not become absolute.
This is getting way off base.
This discussion originally came from the suggestion that atheists are incapable of morality.
Now we're on to trust and free trade. I believe I have made a good case here that morality was woven into the fabric of religion, but exists independently from it. That is all I sought out to prove.
I really can't even begin to analyze these other tangents you're getting into. I would say that the majority of people in America right now are not practicing Christians even if they identify themselves as such because of family tradition and heritage. America is largely secular, and yet commerce and respect for the law continues, as strong as it ever was.
Now you would say this is possible because we live in a culture that was established on Christian roots. I can't argue with that, because it is true. But then how can one analyze these other products of modern civilization when there is no control group to compare to? It is impossible, and not to mention rather moot.