Thank you all for responding honestly and respectfully. I appreciate all the input. I hope I didn't offend the people who attend AA by asking to hear only from people who did not. It was not my intention to exclude anyone or their views. I only thought it best to separate the two sides in order to get some real reasons stated.
I can see valid reasons on both sides. What I have heard for the most part on this thread are these main reasons
1. Shyness and embarassment or the dislike of large groups and/or fear of
speaking in front of them.
2. Fear of, or disagreement with, one or two... or perhaps all of the 12 steps,
particularly admitting powerlessness
3. The peception (right or wrong) of being pressured to accept views that do
not feel comfortable.
4. Uncomfortable with the religious/spiritual aspect.
5. No time in a busy life to fit in meetings.
OK... These are all valid reasons and are important to those that own them. Not everyone will agree, however and that's ok. Just know that holding different views does not make another's invalid. Usually when people feel strongly about something, argument or debate will not alter anyone's opinion. It will only strengthen it and cause animosity. Pretty soon the argument becomes personal, and not really about the topic originally disagreed on. So people like me... a newbie... don't really get the picture of what people were arguing about. Only that there was an argument happening.
None of the above reasons look to me as being sinister or wrong. They are just indivdual perspectives. The main thing is that we continue working at staying sober and be here to offer support to those that need it. I know I have gained so much from this forum. You are all a great bunch of people.