Relix I will do a little bit of cherry picking, in order to condense my answers, feel free to do the same or point out a specific part of your post that I've missed.
Derive from? I would state to exact opposite. Societies/cultures insert their morals, predispositions, wishes and cultural values in their religious system? The majority of men find the thought of having sex with another man disgusting, so the God we imagine surely doesn"t like homosexuality and has forbidden it as a capital crime (one more obvious example). We mistrust people that think, behave or look different and have other cultural values to us, so surely the God we image doesn't look kindly upon non-believers or adherents of a different faith?
If this would be the case, then you're suggesting that some people from some parts of the world are inherently less civilized and more evil, which led to inject them those values in religion, and as a loop effect that same religion controls the society in a negative way.
Like some countries with higher influences from Islam, where gays are stoned, women can't walk on the streets without men, etc.
Then in other places like the West, people are inherently better, and the same process happened in the opposite way and that's why for all extents we're the places in the world where human rights are more advanced?
This makes no sense.
The idea of secularism in Europe is quite recent. Most of our values derive of course from the mother religion of our civilization, regardless of we being able to understand that men can derive a set of values without religion.
And whereas cultures evolve (and with globalisation this happens faster than ever before), the faiths have become more of a brake on progress and openmindedness in many areas. Slowing down the process of learning to get along and respect eachother for who we are and what we do, irrespective of our religious and cultural backgrounds. Don't blindly force judgement on others based on which God-story your ancestors made up during times that probably looked completely different. Judge others openly, looking for the things you can learn from them and things you have in common before starting to list with what you can teach/the other should learn before they receive your respect, help or appreciation. That is progress.
And yet you have very religious countries like Portugal that are worldwidely known for being extremely welcoming, secure and tolerant.
And you have countries that are not that religious like Japan and Korea, which even though yes are very advanced, they are still very racist and unwelcoming of strangers, different skin colors, etc.
So it seems to me that the blockage of your "progress" (I put it on quotes as I don't know exactly what you mean there) are not quite related to the fact of a Nation has its moral values founded in religion or not, and I'd go even that far, that Christian religions are still the world reference of humanity and tolerance today (just look at the place where those in need end in).
Before the dark ages (and since, outside our bubble) there have been many cultures that did quite well in terms of organisation, societal structures, water management, (sustainable) aggriculture and cultivation, exploration, mathmatics, architecture, economics and what not without adhering to any of the monotheisms.
But even so believing in ethereal concepts like karma and divine justice.
I find it hard to descibe, but I find the reason you help others because you care for them, see them as your equals, and have the empathy to understand it could have been you who needed help or support as morally superior to one that helps because he is thought this would please their god, out of fear, or out of bribe for an better afterlife.
Even if religious writings are 100% men invention, one of their motivations would be to control men's natural urges based on purely sensations.
The reason I'm saying this is that yes I agree with you that caring for others gives us a higher purpose in living, but ultimately we're selfish and put our survival and reproduction first.
Even hardcore atheists argue that the origin for men's sense of good and bad comes from a selfish self-surival prespective: helping the fellow men increases the chances of him/her helping you next. A very interesting take on it tbh.