Why Would God Hide?

[FatAndFaithless]

Ugh..no. Atheism isn't a "total rejection of spiritual experience" (though 'spiritual' is such a vague word it may as well be meaningless), it's literally just not having a belief in God, that's it. There are no claims. One could technically argue what you've posited, but that person would be horribly wrong.

It is an extraordinary claim for a human to not have a degree of belief in a deity of some description.

(removing all the other stuff)

Nno, you've still got it wrong. Someone not believing in a deity isn't a claim, it's literally the opposite, it's simply that they don't accept the claims about the deity. There is no claim being made.