How does morality relate to God? Is the acknowledgement of God even necessary for practicing morality?
Whether life was created by God or was the result of an accident that converted "nothing" into material existence has no bearing on morality. Morality is necessary for life, in either case. Morality is those actions and behaviors allowing life to sustain itself as long as it can, and as well as it can. We practice morality because we want healthy and happy lives, not because some superior agent is telling us what to do.
If the living world is an accident, then we still want health and happiness in order to sustain this unique experience.
Religions existed long before modern medicine and science. Before the sciences were developed, people had to rely on common sense and direct experience. Our ancient ancestors spent more time listening to nature and hearing its subtle messages. Today, we have new insights born of science, which help us to better understand those actions and behaviors that lead us to maintain good health and happiness.
Ironically, modern technology has also made us quite deaf to nature's message with all its distractions. A disproportionate amount of our time is spent on activities that do not support our life, and many activities that actually shorten it.
Regardless, morality has only one purpose and relies on only one principle. Morality is those actions and behaviors that lead to the good health and well-being of individuals and communities. When we practice behaviors that lead to good health and happiness for ourselves and others, we will be moral citizens.
Morality is those actions and behaviors that lead to the good health and well-being of individuals and communities. So what does "well-being" mean?
Well-being is a state of being happy and prosperous. And why would being happy and prosperous be important? Presumably, everyone wants to live, as that seems to be what drives us. When we lose focus on the necessities of life and we start feeling ill and miserable, our happiness and prosperity fade. We lose our well-being.
The actions and behaviors we participate in, which cause our well-being to fade, are by definition, immoral. This could be benign things like not getting enough sleep, not eating right, and not exercising enough. It could be more offensive actions and behaviors such as consuming poisonous substances or doing things to our body, which the body cannot safely do. Imposing such actions and behaviors on others reduces their well-being, and is also immoral.
Well-being is not a passive state. It is an active state, which requires vigilance and attention to maintain. It could be said that well-being induces us to continue with our living body as long as our happiness and prosperity continues. Well-being is both the cause and effect of itself. The same can be said for communities of organisms, which as a whole are also living beings.
Well-being is an essential characteristic of life, which is one of the reasons why morality is so vital to individuals and communities.
Morality is, "Those actions and behaviors that lead to the good health and well-being of individuals and communities." This definition provides a simple test of morality for each action and behavior.
All laws, rules, and regulations ever enacted are laws intended to govern morality. All laws are written for one purpose, to clearly define which actions and behaviors are in the best interests of individuals and communities.
Morality is not arbitrary or based upon prejudice. Morality stands on its own and is guided by reasonable, objective observations of health and well-being.
An action or behavior is immoral not because someone decrees it so, but because those particular actions make someone sick or miserable.
Insofar as an action or behavior causes sickness and misery, groups (government, churches, businesses, fraternities, schools, etc.) and individuals have the responsibility to self-restrain their behaviors so that living beings may enjoy a moral life of health and happiness.