Can we be moral without religion?

As humans, our morality has often been guided religions, and to a large extent culture. In fact, there are many things that guide how we behave, and in some countries religion has had a large impact on morals and behaviors. This has varied a lot throughout history however.

In countries that have religious cultures, religion has acted to regulate how we behave, potentially offering rewards and punishments for what we do and what we think. However, as some societies have become less religious, the question has been raised, 「what happens to morals, if we remove religion?」

Personally, I think we can be moral without religion, but may end up using parts of religion to be moral. The bigger question is, why should we be moral at all? The common answer to this is that we should be moral, so that we are treated morally. In other words, I want to be treated well, so I will treat you well. So, this is a slightly selfish answer. However, if the only reason we are being moral is that we want a religious reward, or want to avoid a religious punishment, this is arguably quite selfish, and self-serving too, although it might produce good behaviors.