He never states that atheists don't commit terrible acts. Also, being more religious does not at all mean you have less 'moral lapses' as you put it. Then there's the definition of what's immoral and what's sin. In the 3 Abrahamic religions, being gay is a terrible sin. To some atheists or to people from other religions there's nothing immoral about that.
So it all comes down to perspectives from person to person which is why a separation of church and state is good because it's supposed to prevent people enforcing their (religious) views of what's moral on others. Crimes should be things that are objectively wrong (as in causing harm in the literal sense) like violent acts, infringing on others' rights and property and so on.
Like Hitchens mentions some of the most horrible acts are committed in the name of religion (which is supposed to represent a moral compass for individuals and societies).
I don't remember that Christianity calls drinking or smoking sinful either and if divorce is wrong in Christianity then the majority of Christians in america are major sinners because divorce and remarriage and re-divorce is rampant.
XBL Gamertag: ckmlb, PSN ID: ckmlb
