Does AA Work If You Don’t Believe In God?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Yes

, although you may have to do some internal mental gymnastics to be cool with it. Here’s the first three steps of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous): We made a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. …

Can you join AA If you’re an atheist?

The biggest support groups out there in recovery are AA and NA. You should know that regardless of your religious affiliations or no affiliations or god belief,

you are welcome in AA

and NA. The only requirement for membership is the desire to stop drinking or using.

Can you be an atheist in AA?

There is room in

A.A.

for people of all shades of belief and non-belief. Many members believe in some sort of god, and we have members who come from and practice all sorts of religions, but many are also atheist or ag- nostic. … As A.A. co-founder Bill W.

Does AA talk about God?

AA has a number of clichés that some members take as seriously as commandments. … So while

AA members tell us that it doesn’t have to be G-O-D

, the book Alcoholics Anonymous, the basic text its members use, contains the G word and He and Him (with a capital H) an awful lot.

Is there an agnostic AA?

In fact, there are

countless people who are atheist or agnostic

who are or will be attending a meeting of AA or NA. They have learned how to work a spiritual program without compromising their beliefs. There are people at meetings from all walks of life, who have varying systems of belief.

Who are you to say there is no God AA?

“Who are you to say there is no God?” In a few seconds he was overwhelmed by a conviction of the Presence of God. But there is One who has all power — that One is God. First of all, we had to quit playing God.

Why is God part of AA?

The “God part,” of course, refers to the

references to God and spirituality that appear in Alcoholics Anonymous literature

—the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions, in particular—as well as to the more overt signs of religion that can be part of some AA meetings, such as the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer.

Is AA Catholic?

There is an increasing debate over whether AA should be considered a religion. In many ways AA does seem Christian in focus, but on closer examination,

AA is neither Christian nor moral by any

usual definitions of the word.

Is AA the most effective treatment for alcoholism?


Campral (acamprosate)

is the most recent medication approved for the treatment of alcohol dependence or alcoholism in the U.S. It works by normalizing alcohol related changes in the brain, reducing some of the extended physical distress and emotional discomfort people can experience when they quit drinking (also known …

What is agnostic AA?

A.A. agnostic meetings

endeavour to maintain a tradition of free expression

, and conduct a meeting where alcoholics may feel free to express any doubts or disbelief they may have, and to share their own personal form of spiritual experience, their search for it, or their rejection of it.

Where is Step 1 in the Big Book of AA?

Step 1 We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable. This Step is described on

Roman numeral pages 25 – 32 (xxv – xxxii), on pages 1 – 44:1, and 52:

2. Step 2 Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

What is spiritual AA?

to Spirituality. Page 2. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOuS® is

a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with

each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. • The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.

How many times is God in the AA Big Book?

Consequently, the “official” AA program continues to rely on the divine, the sacred, the religious. The word “God”, or another version of “Him”, is found

281 times in

the first 164 pages of the Big Book. The divine is addressed directly as “God” in four of the 12 steps and indirectly in two, as “Power” and “Him.”

What does the Big Book say about God?

The God in the Big Book

is the God of Bill W’s understanding

. deep down honesty, with myself, admitting that alcohol was controlling me, and there was nothing I could do about it on my own. I needed a power greater than alcohol, and greater than me – and I found that power in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Who is our southern friend?

Fitz Mayo, Big Book author “Our Southern Friend” pages 208-218.

John Henry Fitzhugh Mayo

, commonly called “Fitz” was the Big Book “Our Southern Friend.” He was among the first few to get sober in New York, probably the second after Hank Parkhurst. He has been described as a ‘blue blood” from Maryland.

Amira Khan
Author
Amira Khan
Amira Khan is a philosopher and scholar of religion with a Ph.D. in philosophy and theology. Amira's expertise includes the history of philosophy and religion, ethics, and the philosophy of science. She is passionate about helping readers navigate complex philosophical and religious concepts in a clear and accessible way.