Lol Astro and Ago (though my buttocks might be a bit tired from being tightly flexed for 40-60 minutes in an AA meeting with you).
After I started going to AA, my Catholic priest said that it was a good thing and he recommended all his parishners with drinking issues go. Good recommendation, but I wonder what he would think if he heard some of the higher power theories that I heard in meetings.
Perhaps the confusion about the religious aspect is due to the Lord's prayer (otherwise known as the "Our Father" --that does have religious roots.) Also the early influences of the Oxford group with its Christian background might be another reason.
Individuals in AA are best served by taking a spiritual perspective to the steps and their recovery. Religion is best served in churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples --by experts in the rituals and traditions of their religion.