Just because aa is not considered a mainstream religion does not make it not religious.
The Oxford group from which aa was modeled after was not a mainstream religion but it was a religious organization.
The bb states quite clearly that aa's real purpose is not to help people quit drinking it is "to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us."
God is mentioned over 100 times in the first 164 pages of the bb.
In addition while this debate will rage on forever our courts have made the decision for us...
All of these courts have ruled that Alcoholics Anonymous is a religion or engages in religious activities:
• the Federal 7th Circuit Court in Wisconsin, 1984.
• the Federal District Court for Southern New York, 1994.
• the New York Court of Appeals, 1996.
• the New York State Supreme Court, 1996.
• the U.S. Supreme Court, 1997.
• the Tennessee State Supreme Court.
• the Federal 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, 1996.
• the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
• the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh District, 1996.
• the Federal Appeals Court in Chicago, 1996.
• The Federal Appeals Court in Hawaii, September 7, 2007, in the Inouye v. Kemna case.
The question remains why not call it what it is? What is wrong with the truth? A program that demands rigorous honesty should be able to admit it's own truth.