Definition of "atheist"

Atheists. One who does not believe in the existence of a Supreme Being, an atheist, is incompetent as a witness, being incapable of being sworn. […] Changed by Acts of 1851, No. 12 (P. S. 1593), under which, no question can be raised as to a witness's "opinions on matters of religious belief."

1910, The Vermont Digest 1789-1905‎, volume 2, Burlington: Free Press Printing Co

Malice and prejudice concurred in representing the Christians as a society of atheists, who, by the most daring attack on the religious constitution of the empire, had merited the severest animadversion of the civil magistrate.

1840, Edward Gibbon, chapter 16, in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, new edition, volume 1, page 183

An atheist is just somebody who feels about Yahweh the way any decent Christian feels about Thor or Baal or the golden calf. As has been said before, we are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.

2002 February, Richard Dawkins, Richard Dawkins on militant atheism‎, via TED

Throughout history, atheists were simply people who did not believe the prevalent God of the day. For the sun-worshippers, Christians were atheists. For Jewish people, Christians were atheists. Whoever does not believe in your God is by definition, an atheist. […] With all the countless Gods concocted by man, I claim that my Christian friends and I have something in common. We are all atheists, I just believe in one less God than they.

2009, Lyndon Lamborn, Standing For Something More: The Excommunication of Lyndon Lamborn, AuthorHouse, page 171

For instance, in Morocco, while a Muslim man is free to marry a non-Muslim woman, provided she is Christian or Jewish, but not Buddhist, Hindu or Atheist, a Muslim woman is only supposed to marry a Muslim man.

2002 January 1, Anne-Marie De Mejía, Power, Prestige, and Bilingualism: International Perspectives on Elite Bilingual Education, Multilingual Matters, page 63

Since radio and TV started playing Atheists Like Me, the lead song in the album, Huang's record company has received more than 100 phone calls protesting the content of the new song, the local China Times newspaper reported. […] It's not clear who has been offended by the tune, but most Taiwanese are Buddhists or Daoists. A small number are Christians, Muslims and atheists.

2006 December 24, “‘Atheist’ hip-hop track causes a religious stir”, in Taipei Times‎, archived from the original on 2007-01-25, Taiwan News, page 2

In her chapter, “Freedom of and Freedom from Religion: Atheist Involvement in Legal Cases,” Lori G. Beaman presents her reflections on the various claims made by atheists in the legal arena, such as the objection to prayers in municipal […]

2014 December 4, Lori G. Beaman, Steven Tomlins, Atheist Identities - Spaces and Social Contexts, Springer, page 8

20 “We just need to get rid of religion,” atheist author and entertainer Penn Jillette has said. Many atheists agree, as you can tell from the popularity of antireligion books such as Christopher Hitchens's God Is Not Great.

2015 March 10, David Seidman, What If I'm an Atheist?: A Teen's Guide to Exploring a Life Without Religion, Simon and Schuster, page 149

He would have been seven times more Epicure and atheist than he was.

c. 16th-17th century, “Francis Bacon”, in Of Unity in Religion

God! That majestic name is in the pledge. In doing this the government has already made clear that our country believes in God! We are the majority! Our nation is not Buddhist, not Hinduist, not Atheist, and the list goes on!

2007 December 1, R. D. Richardson, Violence in the Urban Schools!: What Would You Do?, Xlibris Corporation, page 81

The multitude of opinions doth draw him away, or else Atheist him, that he will be nothing. […] The multitude of opinions […] doth un-atheist him, put him upon the search and examination what is the truth of God.

1646, Samuel Bolton: The arraignment of errour