Would an atheist drug addict have issues with the NA or AA 12 step program?

Question

part of the program to recovery is believing that a "higher power" will help you. But what if you don't believe? and you want "recovery"?

One thing that is frowned upon in these programs is referring to a "God", the word is just Higher Power, it is open to the individual to interpet. They didn't pray either, we all just merely admitted that we had issues that we wanted resolved. Their is no religion in the program, if it is handle by the 12 step "book".

Has anyone who answered ever been to a meeting?

Answer 1

I believe there actually is a secular Alcohol/Drug program. Give me a minute and I'll look it up.

Just skimming around the Internet I pretty much came to the realization that 99% of alcohol/drug programs are a bunch of lunatics.
For one thing I had no idea that Narconon is a Scientology front.
Your question gets a star from me just because I learned that fact.

Still looking...

The only one I found was this:
International. Founded 1999. Secular community of persons who are building lives free of dependency on alcohol and other drugs. Group activities are not associated with religion or spirituality. Members practice complete abstinence from alcohol and other addicting drugs. Peer support, literature, information, referrals, and advocacy activities. Guidelines available for starting similar groups. Large online email support group and several smaller special interest groups (women, weight loss, stop smoking, etc). Online chats, forum. Publishes sobriety literature.
Write:
LifeRing Secular Recovery
1440 Broadway, Suite 312
Oakland, CA 94612-2029
Voice: 1-800-811-4142 or 510-763-0779
Website: http://www.unhooked.com
E-mail: [e-mail]
Verified: 09/19/2006

I can't vouch for them, but they aren't a religious group.
I know I saw a few years ago a group that was an alcohol/drug recovery group that made a point of not being a religious brainwashing cult but for the life of me I can't remember the name. It seemed back then it was probably a pretty small group that was technically a national group but probably only had like 5 people per state. I'm really annoyed that I can't remember the name.

Either way, after looking into all of this it made me realize - why is it that SO many of these groups are religiously based? Is it that they just looking to brainwash people in their weakest moments? Or is it that the believer types are overwhelmingly the ones who the addicts? I hadn't thought about it before, but I think it might be a bit of both.

Ah ha! I finally found it:
Secular Organizations for Sobriety (Save Ourselves)
International. 20000 members. Founded 1986. Mutual help for alcoholics and addicts who want to acknowledge their addiction and maintain sobriety as a separate issue from religion or spirituality. Newsletter. Guidelines and assistance available for starting groups. Real-time online chats and e-groups available.
Write:
S.O.S.
4773 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027
Voice: 323-666-4295
Fax: [phone]
Website: http://www.cfiwest.org/sos
E-mail: [e-mail]
Verified: 09/12/2006

Answer 2

The reason you probably feel guilty is because you are still married even though legally separated and you have a boyfriend. Perhaps how you should have approached your problem in your marriage with an alcoholic husband was to stop enabling him when you first realized he was an alcoholic. Sometimes the very push that an alcoholic needs to hit their bottom is when the wife takes action against him with regard to the marriage. There are many good men out there who are recovering alcoholics and they still have their wife of 28 years by their side. Your statement that someimes you wonder if you should have stayed and continued to take care of him told me a lot. You don't try to take care of an alcoholic, you don't enable them and you take the steps necessary to get educated about how to really handle the situation. Hence, the suggestion would have been for you to attend some Al Anon meetings where you could have employed some tactics that would possibly have led him to seeking help much before this. Don't get me wrong here. You don't have to stay in a situation where the alcoholic doesn't do anything to change, but in a marriage as long as your marriage I would have tried some professional strategy to see if it couldn't have been a salvageable situation.

Answer 3

Of course atheists have problems with a RELIGIOUS program.
http://www.positiveatheism.org/tocaprrwp.htm

Some Christians also object to the program of AA:
http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/articles.html#Critiques%20of%20the%2012-Steps

And there are regular folks objecting to AA:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18368218/site/newsweek/
(Newsweek seems to think this is an isolated instance, it's not.)

The Second and Seventh Federal District Courts, The New York State Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of Tennessee have all declared AA to be at least "religious in nature" and mandating attendance to be a violation of the Establishment Clause:
http://www.positiveatheism.org/mail/eml9180.htm

There are non-religious recovery groups, SOS, SMART, LifeRing, WFS, RR (a method, not a group), and cxountless others, but who says a person NEEDS a group to stop?

"There is a high rate of recovery among alcoholics and addicts, treated and untreated. According to one estimate, heroin addicts break the habit in an average of 11 years. Another estimate is that at least 50% of alcoholics eventually free themselves although only 10% are ever treated. One recent study found that 80% of all alcoholics who recover for a year or more do so on their own, some after being unsuccessfully treated. When a group of these self-treated alcoholics was interviewed, 57% said they simply decided that alcohol was bad for them. Twenty-nine percent said health problems, frightening experiences, accidents, or blackouts persuaded them to quit. Others used such phrases as "Things were building up" or "I was sick and tired of it." Support from a husband or wife was important in sustaining the resolution."
Treatment of Drug Abuse and Addiction -- Part III, The Harvard Mental Health Letter, October 1995

I find the success rate for AA (5% or less) even more of a turn-off than their religiousity:
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-effectiveness.html

AA ranks 38th in effectiveness of 48 methods tried:
http://www.behaviortherapy.com/whatworks.htm

So why WOULD someone go to AA?
"What's Good about A.A.?":
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-whats_good.html

Answer 4

Would any one have trouble with the NA or AA 12 step program? Not only atheist! Chronicles 4:9-10. Does any one have trouble with sin? Any one have trouble with doubt? Any one have trouble with the issues of life? Any one have troubles with the cares of this world? Anyone having trouble thinking God can not help them? Anyone wonder if there is a God? Has anyone came out with the victory over anything and then went right back to it days months years later? Frustration? Painful? Disappointments? Just how bad do you want to change? How bad do you need to get over it? Are you doing it for yourself or someone else? If you are left alone will you still want too? Recovery what does that mean to you? 1 John chapter 1 2 3. Do we all not sin? The word of God is recovery. Pray and keep on praying if you fall get up and keep on walking. Walk until you see God. Like the prodigol son. His father ran when he seen him a far off. Luke 15:11-32.

Can anyone change by their own will once addicted? Strongholds what does that mean? Psalms 33.

Answer 5

In my group (s) the 'higher power' thing works like this:

(from the AA 12 steps & 12 traditions book) - "First off, AA does not demand that you believe anything. The 12 steps and 12 traditions are merely suggestions." In fact, if you would like to check out the atheist thang, they address the issue quite openly in the AA "Big Book" and the "12x12".

I've quite a few friends who are atheist and agnostic in AA or NA - one of them uses a Jack in the Box attenae ball as his higher power. tee hee !

Step 3 - "Made a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God, *as I understand Him* - This confuses alot of people on the point, and I'm sure it was debated over mucho before they worded this step. Given the exigency of the matter, they must have opted for the simplest concept, ie; "God" at the time (circa 1930's) -

-leaving it to the individual to decide whether "God" means him, her, it, them, or The Great Void.

The idea is this : your own BEST thinking got you to AA/NA. You need a 'higher power' to help you on this one - whether it's God, Shango, your psychiatrist, or even the group itself.
You get to pick.

edit - ps - there is a genetic setup for addictive disorder, similar to diabetes. Unless one has experienced this, there's no explaining. The closest analogy - Next time you have diarrhea, try using "will power". :) *bless*SJ

Answer 6

I believe they would. I used to work for an advertising that was run by so-called Christian professionals. The undercurrent of religion was too often in the air. We did great work but many of the leaders spewed their religious hash, especially during all-staff meetings. Frequently you felt that if you didn't share their views, your time was limited. Came to fruition but nearly impossible to prove.

Answer 7

I would go to a private therapist or another center that didn't have a "higher power" theme if I were an addict. I don't think it would bother some to use those programs but I'm not inclined to it.

Answer 8

We're scientifically minded people. I doubt we'd ever become slaves to Alcohol or drugs. At least, no Atheist I've ever known would.
But instead of a higher-power, we'd have to look to the best in ourselves.

Answer 9

Funny, I know alot of Christian Alcoholics and Drug Addicts that have failed the program just the same....but the underline theme is helping yourself and getting over your addiction. I see not what God has to do with anything here...

Answer 10

An atheist is far less likely to be addicted to drugs than a religious person. Want proof? my secret bible says so.