No God? No Problem: Atheism in AA as a Human Right
As Bill W. wrote in 1946, "Anti-God, anti-medicine, anti-our recovery program, even anti-each other—these rampant individuals are still an AA Group if they think so!"
Belief is not a requirement of membership.
02/21/17
By Jesse Beach
Jesse Beach is a researcher/columnist for Rebellion Dogs Publishing.
In 2013, Rebellion Dogs Published the first secular daily reflection book for addicts/alcoholics, Beyond Belief: Agnostic Musings for 12 Step Life by Joe C., foreword by Ernest Kurtz http://rebelliondogspublishing.com
Is AA’s “God as we understand Him” as inclusive today as it was intended in 1939? A debate over the sacredness of AA language and rituals started in Toronto Intergroup and landed at the doorstep of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. The Fix covers the press release here.
“I couldn’t grasp what seemed to be the integral concept: the concept of God. I began to consider God as an acronym for Great Others Divine,” Sharon, a Toronto AA member tells The Fix. “However, in my cognitive struggle, there was the literature so chock full of Him with the capital ‘H.’ I was unable to reconcile what I saw to be a rift too incongruent. I could not shake the ever-present notion that I was failing to grasp something key and, by extension, that I was a failure.”
Sharon first came to Toronto AA in 1975, and a 38-year in-and-out struggle began. Sharon’s first agnostic meeting was in 2014. “When I was walking out of that first We Are Not Saints secular meeting, ‘This could work for me’—as incredulous as it seemed—filled my mind. Seeds of connection were planted.” Sharon has remained sober and active in her agnostic group and as a regular in hospital and other AA meetings.
Lawrence was a member of We Agnostics in Toronto. His group was de-listed by Intergroup in 2011. Sincere efforts were made by Toronto AA’s broader-path members to restore unity. A vote to re-list the two agnostic groups in 2012 failed and Toronto’s third secular group was de-listed, too. In 2014, while Sharon was finding lasting sobriety in agnostic AA, Lawrence filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Both the Greater Toronto Area Intergroup (GTAI) and AA World Services (AAWS) were named in the discrimination complaint. AA came under the microscope of the Human Rights law which states:
The Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code) states that it is public policy in Ontario to recognize the dignity and worth of every person and to provide equal rights and opportunities without discrimination. The aim is to create a climate of understanding and mutual respect for the dignity and worth of each person, so that each person feels a part of and able to contribute to the community.
https://www.thefix.com/no-god-no-problem-atheism-aa
http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/policy-primer-guide-developing-human-rights-policies-and-procedures
http://www.aabeyondbelief.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Human-Rights-Tribunal-Interim-Decisin-2016-02.pdf
