Atheists or agnostics can be like other religious people and assert their own belief. I am convinced that any belief system is totally personal.

Perhaps there may be a greater propensity in our community to value logic and thus valid argumentation than there is in the general population. Still I wonder if your experience isn't simply anecdotal. I certainly have no desire to proselytize, and I think that the quiet non-proselytizing, non-argumentative atheists may indeed outnumber those who argue and proselytize. It's just that quieter people are less likely to be noticed. The quiet atheists are like "dark matter" in the population; no one knows how many of us there are ...

I'm sorry your friends are having trouble and experiencing conflict with this decision in their life, my ability to avoid this conflict is attributed to making this life changing decision 38 years ago, I was a junior preacher in the church of Christ at 13 by 17 when I joined the Army in 74 my views of the world started to change, and all I saw from the world educated me, and that education continued for the next few years until I asked myself the question that changed my life forever, Doyle! Do You Believe In God, that was my personal awakening, because the answer came back No!.

It is a natural and genuine trait of people regardless which side of the belief fence you are in. That's human nature.

I think it all boils down to whether or not they can just be comfortable with the idea "we just don't know yet". Most people want a definitive answer, right now. Based on the data available, the existance of a god is highly unlikely to the point that it is not worth realistically considering. So, do you definitely say there is not god, or do you say "maybe" based on the idea tht there are thigns we still don't know and have yet to discover?

Atheist, "no evidence". Agnostic "...as of yet". Arguing who is right is pointloess because neither will prove his/her case. Chances are, the question will never be definitely answered one way or another, so just get comfortable with the idea "we don't know."

I resolved the problem in my own mind by saying "god does not exist, but if any actual evidence comes in to prove otherwise, I will re-evaluate. My beliefs are based on the best evidence now available, if hte evidence changes, I can always re-evaluate.

That is an issue of personality. It arises from two sources: (1) the desire to dominate, and (2) the perceived need to create and/or belong to a belief community.