Alcoholics Anonymous Question...?

Question

I want to go to a meeting but I'm worried that it's expected that you convert to whatever church is hosting the meeting. I read the twelve steps and it's very centered around accepting God yadayadayada......

I just want to get help and be around people who have the same experience I have had...

Should I find other help or can I attend without some attempting to give me their sales pitch on religion?

Answer 1

Like the answer above, you won't be pushed to convert to the religion where the meeting is held.

But you will be influenced to pick a god of your own choosing (the higher power).  They say you can pick whatever you want, but be aware it has to be a personal god that can hear your prayers and tell you what to do (god's will).  For those that stay with AA for a while, they are almost all lapsed Christians, often people who got away from their religion and now find some solace in finding their way back into a religion.  AA is really the religion of the Oxford Groups which was a fundamentalist spinoff of Christianity in the 30s.

There are alternatives (as in the answer above) like Smart Recovery, SOS, Lifering, and others.  Some people choose private counseling; there are many behavior modification counseling methods that help people.  But be careful, many counselors that specialize in substance abuse recovery are what is called "two-hatters".  They practice generic counseling, but are really AA members themselves, and these will likely attempt to guide you to AA as the "only" solution.

It sounds like you have a very, very good attitude about the process.  Congratulations, it is excellent to hear you ask some tough questions before you commit to something, or worse go into it blindly.  If you try to go to AA be very careful, there are many social misfits that hang around AA, and the experience can be very damaging.

The link below is one source of results of various alcohol abuse treatment.  I list it as a hint of the variety of approaches that are available or have been tried --> the point is that 12 step is not the only way.  Please search for more on the Internet for various sites that document the truth about AA that you won't hear in AA.

Answer 2

Alcoholics Anonymous IS a religion, so the only religion anyone will try to push on you is that one. AA'ers deny the religiosity of it, but circuit and appeals courts in sixteen states have determined the exact opposite, finding that AA really is religious in nature.

Answer 3

It is typical that Christians target the most disadvantaged and try to force them to convert.

AA is just one example but food aid is being abused in the same way.  Indeed in Afghanistan it is actually making the war far worse and leading to aid workers being kidnapped, tortured and killed!!

Sadly AA is only a Christian recruiting campaign based on indoctrination and therefore fails more people than it helps because of it's religious bias!!

Answer 4

AA is non-denominational.  You do have to deal with the higher power piece, but that doesn't have to be a god.  If you want to completely avoid religion, try Rational Recovery.

Answer 5

Check out the AA pamphlet titled "44 Questions".  You can find it on aa.org.  Here is an excerpt from the question, "Is AA a religious society?":

"The AA program of recovery from alcoholism is undeniably based on acceptance of certain spiritual values.  The individual member is free to interpret those values as he or she thinks best, or not think about them at all."

It is helpful for me to remember that an individual AA member who I may here speaking at a meeting does not represent AA as a whole.  Just because I here something at a meeting does not mean that it is part of the AA program.   The description of the program can be found in AA conference approved literature such as the "big book" of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Working out the deeply personal problem of spirituality is something you can do in confidence with another alcoholic who you choose as your sponsor.  

Answer 6

You won't be expected to convert to the church where the meeting is held...that isn't how it works at all.

Not that there is nothing to fear.  AA has a specific God (or "higher power" as they call it) and you WILL be expected to believe in that.  The AA God is a "get you sober" God and as you work steps you'll be expected to "turn your will and your life" over to the care of that God.

If it sounds crazy, that's because it is.

So, go if you want, but do know what to expect.  And be aware that there are some other options out there; my personal favorite is Smart Recovery which has online support and face to face meetings in some areas.