As I understand it he already is. The Gelug school of Buddhism, which the Dalai Lama is the de facto head of, does not seem to contain any references to deities of any kind. read more
It’s coming out of a western context. But now the first question is not an answer to that question but a question to the question and that is when you ask is the Dalai Lama an atheist. Exactly what you mean by a theist or an atheist. So let’s start with an atheist is obviously is a person who’s not a theist. read more