Also see http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/sn-definitions.html However, note deviation of OED definitions on the web-page with scans below, (which are from the OED 2nd Edition)
Atheism: Encyclopedia Britannica
edithttp://www.britannica.com/ebc/article?tocId=9356044&query=atheism&ct=
- Critique and denial of metaphysical beliefs in God or divine beings.
- Unlike agnosticism, which leaves open the question of whether there is a God, atheism is a positive denial. It is rooted in an array of philosophical systems. Ancient Greek philosophers such as Democritus and Epicurus argued for it in the context of materialism. In the 18th century David Hume and Immanuel Kant, though not atheists, argued against traditional proofs for God's existence, making belief a matter of faith alone. Atheists such as Ludwig Feuerbach held that God was a projection of human ideals and that recognizing this fiction made self-realization possible. Marxism exemplified modern materialism. Beginning with Friedrich Nietzsche, existentialist atheism proclaimed the death of God and the human freedom to determine value and meaning. Logical positivism holds that propositions concerning the existence or nonexistence of God are nonsensical or meaningless.
Atheism: 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
edithttp://16.1911encyclopedia.org/A/AT/ATHEISM.htm (extensive article, OCD scanned with no proofreading)
Atheism: Merriam-Webster Dictionary
edithttp://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=atheism&x=16&y=15
- 1 archaic : UNGODLINESS, WICKEDNESS
- 2 a: a disbelief in the existence of deity b: the doctrine that there is no deity
Atheism: Cambridge dictionary
edithttp://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=4607&dict=CALD
- someone who believes that God or gods do not exist
Atheism: The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
edithttp://www.bartleby.com/61/52/A0495200.html
- 1a. Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods. b. The doctrine that there is no God or gods. 2. Godlessness; immorality.
Atheism: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, ©1996,1998 MICRA, Inc.
edithttp://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=atheism
- The disbelief or denial of the existence of a God, or supreme intelligent Being.
- Atheism is a ferocious system, that leaves nothing above us to excite awe, nor around us to awaken tenderness. --R. Hall.
- Atheism and pantheism are often wrongly confounded. --Shipley.
- 2. Godlessness
Atheism: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University
edithttp://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=atheism
- 1: the doctrine or belief that there is no God [syn: godlessness] [ant: theism]
- 2: a lack of belief in the existence of God or gods
Atheism: brainydictionary
edithttp://www.brainydictionary.com/words/at/atheism133232.html
- (n.) The disbelief or denial of the existence of a God, or supreme intelligent Being.
- (n.) Godlessness.
Atheist: thefreedictionary
edithttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/atheist
- Someone who denies the existence of god.
Atheist: yourdictionary.com
edithttp://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/a/a0495200.html
- 1. a. Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods. b. The doctrine that there is no God or gods.
- 2. Godlessness; immorality.
Atheism: Compact Oxford English Dictionary
edithttp://www.askoxford.com/dictionaries/compact_oed/?view=uk
- the belief that God does not exist.
