Is God Necessary for Morality?

Shelley Kagan: Moral philosophers of an atheistic inclination are completely entitled to believe that we can have morality without God. If by morality you mean simply a certain pattern of social behavior prevalent among human beings, then obviously this sort of behavior could still go on even if it turned out that God does not exist. No one in tonight's discussion is arguing that in order to live a moral life, you need to believe in God. And the question, as Shelley emphasized, is whether God is necessary for morality.