[keithtoo]

All laws are based on morality - from traffic laws to laws against murder.

Religion is just another name for a defining worldview and is no more or less relevent from a secular law point-of-view than something pulled out of Psychology Today.

Religious morality is a legitimate basis for laws.

[DannyTN]

Is there such a thing as secular morality distinct from religious morality?

Most societies agree that murder or theft violates rights of members.

But not all societies agree on polygamy, divorce, substance abuse, etc. Some of these are left in the area of civil contracts and he could argue that laws in this area are "religous morality" and unnecessary.

[Antoninus]

All laws are based on morality - from traffic laws to laws against murder....Religious morality is a legitimate basis for laws.

I agree with this assessment. Laws are based on a society's moral code. That moral code springs from the philosophy that underpins the society--be it Christianity, Islam, secular humanism, or atheistic communism.

Personally, I'd rather live in a society where Christian morality (which Thomas Jefferson called "the closest to perfect") was the basis for the laws. That's not a theocracy. It's simply what we had and are now in the process of losing. Libertarianism, divoced from Christian morality, is unworkable in real world conditions.

[dark_lord]

All laws are based on morality - from traffic laws to laws against murder.

Not so.

Malum Prohibitum - An act which is immoral because it is illegal; not necessarily illegal because it is immoral. See, e.g. United States v. Bajakajian, 524 U.S. 321 (1998).

Malum in se - An innately immoral act, regardless of whether it is forbidden by law. Examples include adultery, theft, and murder. See, e.g. United States v. Bajakajian, 524 U.S. 321 (1998).