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How well does Alcoholics Anonymous serve persons who are atheist?


when the 12 Steps requires a belief in a higher power?

Would a different program better serve persons who are atheist?

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This entry was posted on July 3, 2010, 7:05 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

  1. #1 by EddieJ on July 3, 2010 - 7:41 pm

    There are atheist groups that say the group is their higher power.

  2. #2 by Terry on July 3, 2010 - 7:57 pm

    AA wouldn’t work for me simply because I don’t believe in a higher power. Fortunately, I’m not an alcoholic.

  3. #3 by Snark on July 3, 2010 - 8:14 pm

    Statistically, AA doesn’t work any better than any other form of treatment.

    They all have a dismal success rate.

  4. #4 by Lvl 5 Account used Answer! on July 3, 2010 - 8:39 pm

    Not very well, if you use my mother as an example. Drunken whore….

  5. #5 by David on July 3, 2010 - 8:43 pm

    AA does no better, on average, than any other “recovery” group, including just giving it up on your own.

    I’ve heard that it’s a great place to pick up women, though.

  6. #6 by Quest4questions on July 3, 2010 - 9:27 pm

    AA does have dogma, but I do know people who are involved in it who aren’t the religious sort. They still seem to take something away from it. There are many other types of programs that are alternatives to AA. Do a search online.

    Good luck to you, hope you can work on your issues.

  7. #7 by Marie on July 3, 2010 - 9:41 pm

    I heard a statistic saying that AA is only successful (a member staying dry longer than 5 years) 3% of the time. If this is the case than I would venture to say that AA doesn’t even serve theists all too well.

  8. #8 by Exult on July 3, 2010 - 10:35 pm

    There needs to be a group called Christians anonymous. Christianity is a mental disorder. The higher power could be human reason.

  9. #9 by SWT on July 3, 2010 - 10:54 pm

    When I was in AA in 1991 I knew atheist who could not work the program due to the need to believe in a higher power.

  10. #10 by raysny on July 3, 2010 - 11:08 pm

    A person cannot remain an atheist in AA while accepting the major premise: that there is a micro-managing, favor dispensing “Higher Power” that responds to prayers.

    I went to AA, genuinely asking how I could work the program as an atheist, I was met with open hostility and told that unless I was willing to find God, I would die drunk in a gutter. I was told repeatedly that it must have been a bad group, to try another. I kept trying other groups and found the same thing, yet people insisted that other meetings were different. It’s like telling someone to try a different McDonalds if you don’t like the food at the first dozen you try.

    One of the problems I had was that I accepted the first step, that I was powerless to do anything about my addiction, and was unable to accept that there was a god that fix me in steps 2 & 3.

    Today, there are alternatives:

    SOS:
    http://www.sossobriety.org/
    http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/sossaveourselves/

    SMART:
    http://www.smartrecovery.org/
    http://smartrecovery.org/SMARTBoard/

    LifeRing:
    http://www.unhooked.com/index.htm
    http://forums.delphiforums.com/lifering/start

    WFS:
    http://www.womenforsobriety.org/

    RR (a method rather than a group):
    http://www.rational.org/

    And with all those options, the majority of people, 75 – 80%, quit on their
    own.

    Personally, I feel that all those groups are great for those who have
    been through AA and have had it pounded into their heads that they NEED
    a group in order to quit. It’s wrong, but AA has been very successful in
    getting people to believe that piece of misinformation.

    Being around others for support can be a good thing, but ultimately, it
    is up to the individual to use or not.

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