General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThis organization helped one of my loved ones get his life back
and I'm glad to hear that there are now meetings available specifically for agnostics and atheists, at least in some of the major cities.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/22/us/alcoholics-anonymous-without-the-religion.html
Three floors above a Manhattan street of loading docks and coffee shops, in a functional room of folding chairs and linoleum tile, a man who introduced himself as Vic began to speak. Today is my 35th anniversary, he said. The dozen people seated around him applauded, and several even whooped in support.
By most overt measures, this gathering two weeks ago was just another meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, one of its multitude of meetings worldwide. At the sessions end an hour later, however, as the participants clasped hands, instead of reciting the Lords Prayer in usual A.A. fashion, they said together, Live and let live.
This meeting, as the parting phrase suggests, is one of a growing number within A.A. that appeal to nonreligious people in recovery, who might variously describe themselves as agnostics, atheists, humanists or freethinkers. While such groups were rare even a decade ago, now they number about 150 nationally. A first-ever convention will be held in November in Santa Monica, Calif.
The boom in nonreligious A.A. represents another manifestation of a more visible and confident humanist movement in the United States, one that has featured public figures such as Bill Maher, Sam Harris and the late Christopher Hitchens. Yet this recent trend within A.A. also marks a departure from the organizations traditional emphasis on religion.
SNIP
Addresses for "Worldwide Agnostic AA Meetings":
http://agnosticaanyc.org/worldwide.html
madamesilverspurs
(15,806 posts)Never has been.
There is a very significant difference between religion and spirituality. The distinction has made it possible for people of every inclination (or lack thereof) to find recovery in AA.
pnwmom
(108,994 posts)atmosphere at these meetings, and I'm glad there are more options for them.
madrchsod
(58,162 posts)and i know people who have. trading one addictions for another doesn't solve the core issue of dependency. i will admit that it is a good thing if they stop there additions but their underlying problems are not solved.
a non religious treatment may have a better long term outcome.