Religion resulted from mans first feeble attempts to control and understand the world around him. The basic premise is that God controls the world and that if you please him, he will in turn do good things for you. The rules (morals) were to obey and serve God and his representatives.
As religions became more sophisticated they developed societal rules that helped reinforce the religion and society and made them stronger. Those rules became morals, the rules that didn't work were dropped by the wayside.
Morals are simply a balancing act between immediate gratification and long term happiness. Once that simple fact is understood, living a moral, joyful life is as easy as floating down the river. It probably doesn't appeal to Christians who enjoy beating themselves up and resisting temptation and repenting after they sin, though.
LeGrande: "Those rules became morals, the rules that didn't work were dropped by the wayside."
So how do you explain the Biblical command to "love your enemy"? That rule doesn't seem to "work" from a common sense or practical point of view. It is a radical idea and one that I feel cannot be explained by experience alone. Hence, I must disagree with your assessment that religion is a compilation of "helpful hints to live by".
I think religions really started from mans attempt to control and understand the world around him...and then a shaman realising that their was something to be gained by convincing others that you knew stuff that they didn't know.
Morals are premised on God because they are premised on ultimate meaning.
Without God there is no ultimate meaning to anything....simply little, local, self-created meanings.