Aug 26

Alcoholics Anon, Narcotics anon, they all require a belief in higher power. Do they work for non believers?

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Question by zorro1701e: Alcoholics Anon, Narcotics anon, they all require a belief in higher power. Do they work for non believers?
Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics anonymous, they all require a belief in higher power or some kind of god. Do they work for non believers, for atheists or agnostics?
Or are those people destined to fail those programs because the programs are designed for believers?

Best answer:

Answer by Derail
It’s true. All these 12 step programs rely on a higher power. They have to. It’s a source in which the recover-er can draw mental strength. For an agnostic person, the mind set would have to be different of course. I don’t mean standing up to proclaim being agnostic. But using those people around you as examples and inspiration to accomplish your recovery. For most folks, it’s better than trying to recover alone.

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2 Responses to “Alcoholics Anon, Narcotics anon, they all require a belief in higher power. Do they work for non believers?”

  1. mister ed Says:
    August 26th, 2010 at 4:52 pm

    i think if you have the will powe you could make it through the 12 step program without the help of god!!!!

  2. raysny Says:
    August 26th, 2010 at 5:13 pm

    I’m an atheist that ended up in AA. The folks there promised me that I would die drunk in a gutter if I was unwilling to believe in their god.

    They claim to be “spiritual, not religious” but every higher court that has heard the arguments has declared AA to be at least “religious in nature”.

    I say “their god” because it is based on the Christian God, but with enough differences for it to be a separate divinity.
    http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/crit12steps.html

    If you believe in the first step of AA, “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable” and have no “Higher Power” to rescue you, you cannot overcome the addiction according to them. In my case, I was shunned, all support withheld because of my non-belief, and what good is a support group that offers no support?

    Doesn’t much matter, even if you do believe, AA doesn’t work any better than no treatment at all and often proves to be worse:
    The Effectiveness of the Twelve-Step Treatment
    http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-effectiveness.html

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