There are things about 12 Step programs that I like. I don't like this aspect of AA. To me, giving yourself to a Higher Power and saying that your Higher Power controls everything is too much like religious faith. I am a stone-cold agnostic and I find that belief or disbelief in God is speculation beyond the data.
I find the idea that "You can use a doorknob as your Higher Power" to be ridiculous. Who actually DOES that? I find the To the Agnostic chapter to be condescending, and the roots of AA are clearly firmly entrenched in Christianity.
I used AA extensively in early recovery, I loved the sense of community and a roomful of people that wouldn't be freaked out when you'd share about staying drunk in a room that smelled like vomit for 3 weeks, for example. HUGELY important to me, it allowed me to cement Step 1.
I tried to work the steps. I really did. I couldn't get through Steps 2 and 3. I'm still working a modified version of Step 4. Tried agnostic groups and a pantheistic sponsor. Still felt wrong for me.
Continuing AA in my sobriety just feels like trying to fit a square peg (me) in a round hole.
BUT
1. I really tried to make it work.
2. Parts of it were extremely useful, and I would never say "No AA ever." It is a hugely available program with a ton of resources.
3. It's worked for a ton of people, and continues to do so.
4. I don't plan on relapsing, but I think very few do. If it happened, you can bet I'd be back at AA in a flash and trying the steps again.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, this is MY experience, and mine alone. I would never presume to say that AA isn't effective for a lot of people, or that religious faith doesn't help a lot of people as well. Because the facts state otherwise.
I would strongly encourage any newcomers or anyone new to sobriety to check out ALL tools available to you, most emphatically including 12 Step.