Is atheism a belief?

[Belacqua]

At work.

Hello Belaqua!

Just a question in passing.

Is,

 'Not accepting a proposition.'

The same as,

 'Rejecting a proposition.'

  ?

Such as the afore mentioned 'Unicorn existing proposition.'

I don't accept that Unicorns (Under the classical, mystical, mythical defi ition) exist.

I do not, howevef, actually reject the claim that Unicorns exist.

Hope I'm grokkable to yourself!

Cheers!

I

Interesting question! 

My first impulse is to say that for all practical purposes they're the same. 

What would be any different in these two dialogues:

Mr. A: Unicorns exist.
Mr. B: I don't accept that.

Mr. A: Unicorns exist.
Mr. C: I reject that. 

The end result is the same. The proposition is deemed to be unpersuasive.

It would be different from this, for example:

Mr. A: Unicorns exist.
Mr. D: Maybe; I don't know. I remain undecided. The criteria by which I could decide this question aren't sufficient yet.

To me, this constitutes "neither accepting nor rejecting." 

Or in terms of a speech act which is other than intellectual assent to a proposition: if a girl rejects your marriage proposal, it's the same as if she doesn't accept it. That sort of case is like an on/off light switch; either it's yes or no. 

This kind of thing is what language philosophers work on, I guess. There may be cases where there is a significant difference. But I can't think of any off hand. 

What do you think? Is "not accept" maybe weaker or more agnostic than "reject"?