Help me understand...

Alright. Personally I am probably more of an agnostic than anything. I don't believe in God or any other form of higher powers. I believe that we are fully responsible for our actions and have control over our lives. I haven't completely ruled it out because while we have some pretty damned good evidence against God we don't have any truly concrete facts that prove there is no higher power out there. (If you haven't noticed I use God and higher power almost interchangeably - I was raised in a Christian environment so that's the reason for that, I do understand the difference though). I honestly could care less about how other people feel on the subject of religion as long as they are happy.

I don't understand why atheists feel the need to "correct" others or feel that they are persecuted or looked down upon. If someone is going to look down on you for your beliefs are they worth your time? Why the arguments? Why the point making? Why do atheists in general feel the need to make their beliefs known? I see atheists in a negative light because of reddit. It's like any other religion to me, or an anti-religion, if you will. I just don't get it. It's like the things atheists hate most are their determining factors.

As an example - 2 gentlemen come to my door every week to talk to me about the lord. I've taken bible classes, I've been to Sunday school, I understand where people with religion are coming from. What I don't do is give these guys crap or tell them not to come back. I can tell that they enjoy what they're doing. It's part of their religion, it makes them happy. It gives them hope. Not everyone has lived the life you live or had the same experiences you've had. People will come to terms with things in different ways. So I listen - for about 10 minutes every week while these guys talk about Jesus with me. I enjoy discussing it with them, I refrain from bringing up my beliefs not out of shame or pride, but because they deserve to be happy just like anyone else and if I can help them be happy I'm game. Plus I think it's imperative (for me at least) to always learn more about my opposite beliefs. I always want the other side of the story and I enjoy discussing the possibilities of our nature and the world around us.

I guess what I'm getting at is this. We all want to be happy. What makes me happy is different from what makes you happy. Why can't atheists be the "grown up" in this situation and simply appease others with the ultimate goal of making someone else happy? You know you aren't going to change anyone's mind. I certainly don't let others dictate what I believe and how I feel. It seems to me that atheists (of reddit anyways) are just as bad as other religions when it comes to trying to get the word out.

I understand the ramifications of having the church and state hand in hand and I agree that needs to stop. We need more freedom of choice in America and religion is crippling us there, it's crippling in more ways than that. I'm trying to get at a more personal level. It seems to me that a lot of atheists come off as whiny or trying to push an agenda onto people, dramatic even, again on a personal level towards people who choose to worship a higher power.

TL;DR: I feel like atheists are trying to make people "see the light" with an ultimate goal of happiness or contentedness without religion. Why is this? Why is the atheist method of happiness any better than anyone else's when the end goal is the same?