Thanks Eroica for the problems in quantifying the "religious experience" or "spiritual awakening", etc.
But to say AA wants to conflate the two? AA wants to do no such thing. What kind of meetings are you going to? The meetings I go to are about personal recovery and helping others. The only time AA suggests treatment is for some new drunks who want to get and stay sober and who might need a little medicine to taper off. Off the top of my head I think the book says, "For some, treatment would be wise."
Nowadays, they've got valium that might be more effective than say, another shot of booze. When some drinkers that have been hitting it really hard just stop abruptly, some fall apart shortly there after. I saw one lady in a treatment center that turned purple in color after about 3 or 4 days sober and she fell on the floor in convulsions as a direct result of alcohol withdrawal. I've seen this in the lunch room of a treatment center years prior as well with a man that had been dry for about 3 or 4 days.
AA has no affiliation with the hospitals, churches, court systems, insurance companies, etc.
JD Rockerfeller saw to that by denying AA any money! Old Bill would have loved to have his own hospitals and treatment centers, AA Universities... Then AA would have been all up in the Disease Concept's grill.
It's about the Alcoholism Industry Machine that includes doctors, lawyers, judges, insurances companies, counselors, shrinks, drug stores, etc.
AA got nutin' to do wid it.