In UK atheists considred more moral than theists.

[possibletarian]

Kind of a hard question to answer, since "religion" is a super broad term. It depends on the religious beliefs and what morals/values it espouses. It can be a force for either good or bad, depending on what the morals and values are. Atheism doesnt espouse any particular morals or values, it is just a term to describe lack of belief in God, and says nothing about morals/values one way or the other.

In the U.K. when someone says the word religious' the vast majority will be thinking mainly of the Abrahamic religious giants like christianity and islam, some will spare a though for the lesser known ones. To almost all it will mean theism of some type.

I suspect it's the same in the U.S. too when people talk about religion.

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It always amazes me when theists think the moral authority argument is such a powerful one. Why would you need an objective moral authority ?

Morality is simply a code of behaviour that has evolved for the common good, and changes from country to country, from religion to religion.