I was surprised how much the format of the meetings was like many religious services I had attended. Not necessarily the content specifically, though of course it focuses on how to live a life that is worth living.
But yeah, the set up felt very churchy, and many people seemed to talk about it and approach it the way many people talk about and approach their religion.
In the area in which I first got involved, there were folks who would hold up their much highlighted copy of the Big Book and shake it for emphasis while they "preached" on a certain reading out of it. And quoted it line and verse.