yours was a rather limited description of heathen, so is that from Webster's or from Ev's dictionary??

One who adheres to the religion of a people or nation that does not acknowledge the God of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam.
Such persons considered as a group; the unconverted.

One who is regarded as irreligious, uncivilized, or unenlightened.
Such persons considered as a group.

heathen

\Hea"then\, a. 1. Gentile; pagan; as, a heathen author. ``The heathen philosopher.'' ``All in gold, like heathen gods.'' --Shak.

2. Barbarous; unenlightened; heathenish.

3. Irreligious; scoffing.

heathen

\Hea"then\ (?; 277), n.; pl. Heathensor collectively Heathen. [OE. hethen, AS. h??en, prop. an adj. fr. h?? heath, and orig., therefore, one who lives in the country or on the heaths and in the woods (cf. pagan, fr. pagus village); akin to OS. h??in, adj., D. heiden a heathen, G. heide, OHG. heidan, Icel. hei?inn, adj., Sw. heden, Goth. haipn?, n. fem. See Heath, and cf. Hoiden.] 1. An individual of the pagan or unbelieving nations, or those which worship idols and do not acknowledge the true God; a pagan; an idolater.

2. An irreligious person.

If it is no more than a moral discourse, he may preach it and they may hear it, and yet both continue unconverted heathens. --V. Knox.

THE HEATHEN, AS THE TERM IS USED IN THE SCRIPTURES, ALL PEOPLE EXCEPT THE HEWS; NOW USED OF ALL PEOPLE EXCEPT CHRISTIANS, JEWS AND MOHAMMADANS.

Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance. --Ps. ii. 8.

Syn: Pagan; gentile. See Pagan.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

heathen

adj : not acknowledging the God of Christianity and Judaism and Islam [syn: heathenish, pagan] n : a person who does not acknowledge your God [syn: pagan, gentile, infidel]

Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University

heathen

(Heb. plural goyum). At first the word _goyim_ denoted generally all the nations
of the world (Gen. 18:18; comp. Gal. 3:8). The Jews afterwards became a people
distinguished in a marked manner from the other _goyim_. They were a separate
people (Lev. 20:23; 26:14-45; Deut. 28), and the other nations, the Amorites,
Hittites, etc., were the _goyim_, the heathen, with whom the Jews were
forbidden to be associated in any way (Josh. 23:7; 1 Kings 11:2). The practice
of idolatry was the characteristic of these nations, and hence the word came to
designate idolaters (Ps. 106:47; Jer. 46:28; Lam. 1:3; Isa. 36:18), the wicked
(Ps. 9:5, 15, 17). The corresponding Greek word in the New Testament, _ethne_,
has similar shades of meaning. In Acts 22:21, Gal. 3:14, it denotes the people
of the earth generally; and in Matt. 6:7, an idolater. In modern usage the word
denotes all nations that are strangers to revealed religion.