Although I am far from being an atheist or even agnostic.  I don't think you need God in politics and the public sector to have a moral society.  I think what has contributed more to moral decline is the new moral relativism and narcissistic tendencies in American society.  People just do not seem to be as friendly now as when I was little.  For example, when I was a kid we knew everyone on our block.  Today, I know one neighbor and the guy down the street whose son mine plays with.  This despite attempts to be friendly, and I have lived here for 3 years.  But, I do agree with you that if we put God back in the public square and people were not almost afraid to admit they are religious it would go a long way towards promoting a more moral society.  One of the essential missing ingredients is public censure for bad actions.

Good point about neighborhoods. In the small town I grew up in, everyone knew everyone else, warts and all. And as a kid, if you were doing someting bad or really wrong, and an adult saw you, good chance your Mom got a phone call or a visit about your actions. "Self-policing" might not be a bad term here. There was a moral authority, with fear of punishment.I am not a religious man, as Donnie knows, but I believe in the 10 Commandments, and I myself feel if they were posted in public places, mabye people might actually READ them, and live by them, we'd do a lot better. 

I know how it is where you can live in a neighborhood and not really ever talk to the people a few doors down the block.  When I lived in one of the poorer countries of South America one thing that struck me was how some neighbors were like family to a family that I was living with.  The houses were so close to each other and there was less privacy.  They also didn't really drive cars but walked places – to work, to the bus stop, wherever – so you could see and talk to your neighbor about every day.  The houses weren't very big so there wasn't much to do inside them.  This forces people to get outside and make contact with their neighbors.