A lot of atheists, don’t necessarily believe that there isn’t a God, but just that they are going to live their lives assuming that there isn’t one.
When I was younger and stupider, I once thought to myself that it didn't matter if I believed in God and behaved that way when I was alive; if, when I died, He really existed I would simply argue my way into heaven.....
It was a watershed moment, when I figured out how monstrously silly an idea that was.
What it was for me, and I suspect for many supposedly devout atheists, is more a matter of pridefulness than of disbelief. And fear -- not of God, but of being seen to express an opinion on the subject of God that differed from what had been said before.
While it is undoubtedly true that the likes of Mr. Dawkins are driven by hatred, I think pridefulness and fear of being wrong -- not hatred of God -- are probably what drive most "atheists."