Originally Posted by
mbachman 
Hello Everyone,
Why aren't these groups centered about sobriety, and not a) religion or b) debates?
So I've decided to split from both AA and RR, and I've created my own 12-step program. It's one-step, repeated 12 times. "Don't drink." Period. End of discussion.
If "Don't Drink Period" were a solution we would not need AA or any other support group. Most of us tried this white-knuckle approach as our first resort. AA is typically our last resort. We were all skeptical at first.
AA is not a formal religion in the sense that it has no official dogma. Some groups may be dogmatic but AA groups are truly independent entities.
In my area there are many different kinds of AA meetings - Big Book meetings, Open Talk meetings, Lead Discussion meetings and Barefoot meetings (no literature). Some of these meetings are close to religious and some are closer to complete Chaos.
Until you have tried at least a dozen meetings you have no idea just how Diversified AA really is.
As far as debates go - there will always be debates between people who take this subject seriously (which it is).