The claim that Atheism makes no positive claim whatsoever is one of the most explicit statements I have seen of the Tilde Fallacy. I explain why this is a fallacy here: https://www.academia.edu/15150092/The_Tilde_Fallacy_and_Reincarnation_Variations_on_a_Skeptical_Argument

The main point is that not stating your positive claim (i.e. by trying to state with the logical negative symbol or tilde) does not stop you from presupposing a positive claim. It just enables you to hide it from yourself.

Your claim that following the scientific method is just piling up evidence without being concerned by beliefs is another fallacy, often called the Myth of the Given. Nobody who has seriously studied scientific method has believed that since the 1920s. ( although it is the most common position believe by people who admire science but haven't studied philosophy of science.)