Alchy123

Hi all, I'm having a hard time and having a really hard time with my drinking. I want help, the anonymous kind, but I'm not all into the religious thing. I read up on the AA method and whatnot, and am looking for some kind of support group, but the religious thing turns me off. Not to say that I don't believe in a creator, but I certainly don't believe in any one religion. Nothing personal, please don't take it that way, but does anyone here know of a good, non-judgmental, non-religious AA program? Really really appreciate any help. Thanks

Dee74

Hi alchy

I'm not sure here if you mean you want what you call a 'non religious' AA group or whether you're just using AA as a synonym for 'recovery group'.

There are two forums here you may be interested in, depending on what you want:

Our Secular Connections forum encompasses non 12 step, secular, recovery:
Secular Connections - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

we also have a secular 12 step forum for a secular approach To 12 Step Programs:
Secular 12 Step Recovery - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

D

MyNewName

I am an atheist. I categorically do not believe in a god or a higher power so AA isn't for me, but there are secular forums on here. Also, I don't think AA necessitates that you follow a specific religion or believe in an identifiable deity. As far as I know the belief system you have in place would be enough for AA to work for you.

Bamboozle

Welcome to SR, Alchy.

PaleMale

Well, I am atheist as well and AA works great for me. It takes some extra work to find something to believe in and to nurture the humility required, but it wasn't that hard in retrospect. Although, with an open mind I am finding some comfort through Zen.

That said, there are other programs. I read what I can in and out of the AA thing. But to dismiss AA as religious, is contempt prior to investigation. In your area, AA may indeed be more religious than I could deal with, but at this point, my solution would be to start an Agnostic group.

Best of luck.

keithj

I crawled into AA as a staunch atheist who thought the idea of a 'higher power' was a crutch for weak minded sheep. The 12 Steps of AA worked a miracle in my life. About half of the original AA members were agnostic or atheist when they started the program. There are some fundamental requirements in AA, but religion is not one of them. I think you'll be surprised.

Spawn

Go to AA and when you hear the g....o....d word,
think it stands for good orderly direction.
The key to recovery is to keep an open mind.
Just ask yourself "is your way working?"

wpainterw

As you see, some folks have managed to get help from AA by taking a broader approach than the traditional, historical one which seems to dwell on a "God". I found an AA agnostic group which did this and it helped a lot! Whenever I went to another meeting somewhere else and they got into the "God Stuff" too heavy for me I tried another meeting. In any case, if AA continues to have some problems for you, there are other non AA groups which are often available. My own experience is that it helps to have the support and advice of other alcoholics. Some folks could do it alone but I had difficulty doing so. Good luck.

W.

aasharon90

Living the AA recovery life basically means
living life right. Being a kind, considerate,
caring person. Being honest in all ur affairs.
Not lieing, stealing, killing, destructive, mean,
cruel, etc.

The 12 steps provided to us are basically a
guideline to follow in life that keeps us in check
so we can remain nice, caring, considerate people
in society.

Im no holy roly and I was born and raised Catholic,
and have not returned to Church in a long time. Deep
within me i have a faith that guides me and strengthens
me on a daily bases.

Alcohol made me do not so normal things with bad
behaviors. Being sober with clear mind body and soul
with an AA recovery foundation to live upon helps
me continue living life better than before.

Ananda

You just have to scope out the AA groups in your area..not just the group but the people. Your likely to find support for your base line on the god thing. I also agree that checking out other options like smart, or some of the secular threads here can help. Just don't let the words get in the way of relating to the expereince....I'm not sure about the god thing...but I know that what people who are "true believers" describe are similar to my expereinces as an agnostic/athiest....

Aeon

As far as I know, AA is primarily:

"a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other
that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism"

Anything concerning faith, God, and a Higher Power is found in the literature and the steps and is something that is suggested you work on with a sponsor, other members, and study on your own. Of course these things are discussed in the groups at times, but AA itself is simply Unity, Service, and Recovery.

*Maybe I'm off here? Someone please correct me if I am..

My suggestion if you would like to work the steps but can't get around the "God" thing, is to do what Spawn said and equate "God" with "good orderly direction", and adopt the group itself as your "Higher Power". The intent here is to have something in place "greater than yourself" to defer your critical thinking over to and help cultivate humility

Anna

Welcome!

I hope you find a recovery method that works for you.

firestorm090

After entering an AA meeting hall, and seeing the steps on the wall, I was totally ticked off. I was taught to believe in God as a child, and I did and do, but I had developed an enormous hatred of God over the years. I couldn't stand the mere uttering of the word God, and Higher Power stunk in my mind too.

But the ole bottle forced me to become a bit more openminded, for after years of misery, frustration, loss, self-contempt, anxiety, health issues and the like, I decided to do what ever it took to try to change my life. I became neutral on the God thing, with high reserve and still some ill feelings I loved to foster from time to time. I chose to hang around AA for awhile, to see if maybe there was something, anything they could offer to help this ole drunk live a different life in any measureable way. I discovered, after going to quite a few meetings, that the way of life found in AA has been more than sufficient for me to find ways to change, and even give HP, God, or Mother Nature their right to exist too, lol.

One thing is for sure, I'm not God, and wouldn't want to be, cuase there's an awful lot of work involved in being God, lol.

Zencat

Welcome to SR Alchy123.

As an atheist that attends open AA meetings, I have found the wisdom of "take what you need and leave the rest" makes it possible for me be in a faith based fellowship.

The best way to see how religious or not is to try a variety of AA meetings in your area. I know that in my locality some AA meetings are more religious in nature and others are more along the lines of spiritual with little God or HP talk.

I hope you will find a recovery method that is meaning as beneficial to you.

CarolD

Welcome to our recovery community...

Terminally Unique

Key word, there. They may come in that way, but they won't stay that way. There are no atheists in AA, not if they are actually working the program. In spite of the deliberate misconstruction of the term in recovery circles, not believing in the G-d of the prophets does not make one atheist per se. Atheists will not believe in any higher power, traditional or otherwise, certainly not one you can establish conscious contact with as per Step 11.

mhealer3

its never God's style 2 force Himself on anyone.
and its not my style 2 convince people of His Being.
i must assume though,
that folks who say they are atheists simply don't like Peace & joy.
if you are seeing God as a mean Personality, or as a 'buzz-killer',
it's understandable why you avoid Him.
i myself avoid miserable, judgemental or critical people here on earth.
but the misconception is that God is going to 'take' from you...
& somehow life could suck even more with God in it.
that's really messed up, though. twisted even.
i realize religion is a bummer, because that's where all the laws,
condemnation & 'trying to please God' happens.
God hates religion. it's given Him a bad name in the earth.******
truth be told, God is our best ally, giver of blessings only, & the perfect hero.
even though man long ago chose to leave God,
throughout history God has been making the Way back 4 us.
if you give Him the benefit of the doubt, you'll find your Salvation:
in God's chosen Deliverer for mankind--Jesus Christ.
Jesus came to live as a man, & 2 die in our place--making Peace w God 4 us.
it's really all Good News, if it's the truth about God.**********
if it's a lie, it definitely will sound like bad news.
so don't be following propaganda of religion about 'keeping rules', 'works that please God', ect. that's the BIG LIE.
because ONLY JESUS PLEASED GOD. and God recieves us when we recieve
Jesus as our only hope, our only Savior,Amen

sugarbear1

I find some people in aa have a religion and some don't. I attend because I want sobriety, not religion. My way didn't work for sobriety. I am not religious.

zorilla

Here's something I recently heard that was helpful to people that don't believe in God.
The 1st and 2nd step of AA
1.We admitted we were powerless over alcohol-that our lives had become unmanageable.
2.Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Now imagine that alcohol is a 600lb weight;you cannot lift it;you are powerless.
If everyone in AA works together they could lift the 600lbs.The power of the group is greater then ourself...Hope this makes sense...

BadCompany

You'll do fine in AA. Spiritually it is a "run what you brung" program. If the God stuff you got works for you, fantastic. If it doesn't, figure out something else. You need help with it, ask. Want to figure it out on your own that's good too. You don't have to do what I do, you just need to do something.