The word absence when referring to the theistic god surely must be married with ' as exists in the mind ' this then would distinguish the notion of an actual being existing to that of the existance of the belief in god which is derived from the brain.
Although the definition of the word absence may include ' non existance ' it could and imo mean not existing in the given scenario but either has or does exist in reality outwith the subject of discussion. I feel that the use of the word absence in referring to god ie ' god is absent ' is counter productive and leans toward belief that indeed god exists. Therefore if you truly feel god does not exist through lack of evidence or otherwise I feel the use of absent in that context is misused.