GreenColor

I was wondering how many of us at SR are either. Atheism has become more socially acceptable over the past decade and I find no reason to hide it anymore. That's still my biggest concern about going to AA. I just can't "believe in a power greater than me", whatever that even means. I guess a power plant has more power than me but I don't think that's what the BB means.

dwtbd

Philosophically I hold to a primacy of existence stance , making atheism a consequence. But that is the least of the reasons why I would have a problem with the other A's.

Ionray

It is a higher power of your understanding, whatever that means to you. Many AA's use the fellowship as their higher power. The main thing is that you admit that you are powerless over alcohol (on your own) and that you need help from a power greater than yourself, whatever that means to you.

Tamerua

I don't classify as anything, if pushed, I like the buddhist self reliance but I don't practice anything. I do go to AA and the universe is a power greater than me. I actually love AA. For me, it has been about finding the right group. I've been to groups that I won't go back to because they were adamant about pushing a certain HP, but I have found more groups that don't do that than those that do.

There is another thread, probably in the 12 step forum very similar to your statement about the BB not intending that. That is exactly what the BB intended, whatever works for you is fine, it only has to work for you.

ScottFromWI

I view sobriety as a distinct part of my life. Faith in a religion or atheism/agnosticism can certainly be an important part of living sober. There are agnostic and atheist AA groups too.

AlexThedude

I've found that with a PROPER diet with all the vitamins minerals and nutrients I need, proper exercise (for me every day,) and a good support group, that I have quite a bit of control over my life, although I've been more open minded since I quit substances, I still am not *sure* what to believe, and I feel that God, whatever it is, understands my position, should he exist, and if he does, I welcome his support lol.

oak

I'm atheist too. I tried AA many times but could not deal with the religion, especially the Lord's Prayer at the end of meetings.

There are other groups.
SMART Recovery
Women for Sobriety
LifeRing
Narcotics Anonymous (which is based on 12 steps but much less Christian than AA, open to all substance addictions)

I tried everything that I could find and then decided what worked best for me. I do wish that there were more secular meetings.

GreenColor

Thank you Oak!

Gottalife

Being a cranky agnostic when i arrived in AA, I found this no particular barrier. What would have been fatal for me was to close my mind to all spritual concepts. In that frame of mind AA would have been completely the wrong program for me, though there was nothing else at the time anyway.

Fortunately, I managed to keep an open mind and followed some basic suggestions. In the process my ideas changed through actual experience. Though still not nearly Christian, I have been able to develop a faith that works for me, and it has worked fine for a long time now.

Step two in the AA program is where I chose the spritual path. It asked me "was I even willing to believe that the power that got all these AA people in front of me sober could possibly work for me too?" I was willing to believe it might work, so I was willing to follow the suggestions. I was so skeptical at the start that I didn't take a note of the day I stopped. However it wasn't long before I got the proof I needed.

Looking back, the only thing that could have defeated me was a closed mind. Never, in all my time as an AA member, has anyone tried to hook me into any religion.

ru12

Funny, when faced with the fact that alcohol was messing up my life... I stopped drinking it. No powerlessness, no religion, no spiritually, no meetings. I did the same thing to other poor behavior issues I had as well. There are many paths to sobriety, but they all involve not drinking.

freshstart57

I have a strong faith now, and I had it while drinking too. My HP said it is up to me to choose how I behave, and for me that meant it was up to me to quit. He gave me the tools to do it, and said, you can do this if you choose to. So what's it going to be, buddy? I quit.

Becoming addicted was not a result of my relationship with my creator, nor was getting sober. I had to decide to own both of those events. I took responsibility for my behavior and fixed it. I can see how that would work for others, those with a spiritual or religious belief and those without.

The most important belief as factor in our success, in challenge facing us, is a belief in self. Believe you can do it, and then go do it. Onward!

anattaboy

The literature read and quoted is the biggest hurdle but AA is the people, the group. Overlooking religious reference and listening to what people are really saying should not be new to you, me or really anyone. I've heard non-alcoholics say they were touched by the honest introspection they saw and were inspired to look at themselves after sitting in. You can see what others are doing for/in sobriety--some good, some bad. The reading meetings I avoid. Methinks AA will eventually change to be more welcoming to non-believers in time (already has in my time). Best wishes on however you do it.

RecklessEric

I find it weird that god (or God) is such a consideration in discussions about addiction and recovery. Presumably it's down to the popularity of AA which, regardless of what it's members say, was established by Christians and the God they mention is not one of your choosing, but their God
That's not to say one has to be a Christian for AA to help.
Of course not, but let's not fool ourselves.

God, Jesus, Allah or any of those other beings have nothing to do with my alcoholism or my recovery.
You guys, on the other hand, have helped me out big time.

I don't have any desire to be controversial and I wish to offend nobody here.
This is my opinion.

Stay great, you guys.

FeelingGreat

I'm an atheist and it's never not been socially acceptable where I live, although some people will say they are 'spiritual' or get married in church. I know very few regular church goers.

The semi-religious side of AA kept me away from it, but if I'd been struggling or repeatedly relapsing I would have gone anyway. I was fortunate enough to become sober with just me and SR.

hollybear

I am atheist as well. And The 12 steps do absolutely nothing for me because of the higher power thing. People say "oh, higher power can be yourself, or anything!" But as a fellow atheist, we both know that doesn't fly.
That being said, I did go to some AA meetings and I did find solace in the companionship between everyone. There is something to be said about being in a room with a bunch of other people with the same problem, and hearing how they did it. It made me feel like I can do it too.
And I do have to admit my powerlessness over alcohol. I think there is a lot if truth to that.
Are you an intellectual? Try reading the Power of Habit. It has been really opening my eyes up about why I drink and not in the dogmatic religious way that AA does.

Soberwolf

I love god and science not afraid to say that !

Don't belong to any religion either

Just known there is something from a very young age

I love the stars and the cosmos and respect and understanding

Db1105

The good old Group Of Drunks works for me.

Soberpotamus

Agnostic atheist here. Just the way it is. Not a choice. I don't let it stop me from taking part in ANY recovery program.

nandm

What is funny is that is almost exactly what I used for the "Power Greater than Myself" when I first started AA because I had such a huge problem with the God concept as I associated it closely with organized religion. I knew from experience using a defibrillator that electricity could bring life back in to someone and I had also worked on someone whom we could not bring back to life that had been electrocuted so I knew that electricity had both the power to give life and take it away. I also know that almost all processes of our body work on a sort of electrical current, our brains use a small amount of electricity to function, our hearts need electrical impulses to beat, and even our muscles need an electrical current to get the message across to move. That said I knew that electricity was a power greater than myself.

I was desperate enough to just substitute the word electricity for the words "God," "Higher Power," and "Power Greater than Myself," when reading the Big Book and apply the program using that very basic concept of a power greater than myself. For me that worked and has worked for more than 13 years now. Granted my concept of a Power Greater than Myself has evolved over time even though I am still in no way religious. I understand the difference between spirituality and religion now as I have learned it from experience. I still have issues with organized religion, especially when I look at events happening all around the world and listen to the hate that is often spewed towards minority groups in this Country in the name of religion.

AA worked for me despite the fact that I have no use for religion but as others have stated there are other recovery programs out there that do work. I do encourage you to try whatever you feel will work for you and if that does not work then try another but most important do not give up as sobriety is worth the work.

Music

I believed that way once until I got honest with myself about how screwed up my life was. I was about to lose everything I'd tried so hard to hold on to doing things my way. Plus, I couldn't NOT DRINK. I tried every way I knew how. Finally one day I heard a friend say, "why don't you go look in a mirror, and if you kind think of anything more powerful than what you're looking at, you need more help than any human can give you." I did that and started right then to ask for help to NOT DRINK. Haven't had a drink since.