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In the past year, more than 140,000 people in the United States have died from excessive alcohol use. What's a struggling person to do? It's tempting to recommend people attend Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings. They are easily accessible and free. The AA World Organization estimates there are nearly 123,000 groups worldwide. While millions have found AA to be helpful, it is impossible to estimate how many others left AA or never even passed through its doors. A reason many give for leaving AA or never attending is the belief that AA is a religious program.
While AA claims it is a misconception that it is a religious program, courts are finding that people who have been court-ordered to a treatment program that uses the 12 Steps of AA or ordered to attend AA meetings have their First Amendment rights violated. "God" is invoked in five of the 12 steps. Though there is the qualifier, "as we understood Him," a distinct Christian-centric conception of God is omnipresent. Anyone not sharing Christian beliefs must either block out the language or translate it into something more familiar and hopefully useful. The reality is that in many parts of the United States, AA is the only game in town; there are just not any nonreligious options available.
The preamble to Alcoholics Anonymous states "our primary purpose is to stay sober and to help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety." It is fair to ask what AA could do to help more people to achieve sobriety. Could AA change to become not Christian-centric?
While most early members of AA were Christian men arguing for a more intentionally Christian focus, Henry "Hank" Parkhurst was a vocal critic of all "the God language." He argued that "God" should not be mentioned at all because it would deter many people from membership. After heated arguments, Parkhurst convinced Bill Wilson to use the term "Higher Power," as well as to add "as we understood Him," as a qualifier to "God," in the book, Alcoholics Anonymous (1939). Wilson very reluctantly accepted these suggestions and only later did he admit those changes have "proved lifesavers for many an alcoholic."
As is often the case with a movement or program, there's concern about sustainability. Early members created a group that evolved into the General Service Conference. They also made a distinction between "The Program" and "The Fellowship." The Program comprises Alcoholics Anonymous, in which the Steps are enumerated, the program described and stories of members appear. There are also other approved publications. Since the second edition of Alcoholics Anonymous (1955), no substantive changes to the original text had been allowed by the AA General Service Conference, which has the effect of making it a sacred text. A recent change brings me some optimism. By an advisory action, the General Service Conference changed the language of AA's being a "fellowship of men and women," to a "fellowship of people."
The Fellowship is people who identify as members of AA. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. Unlike individual franchises operating under a corporate structure that requires uniformity in all matters across all locations, each AA group is autonomous and independent. Some AA groups are very traditional, with meetings that closely resemble those held by the original Christian men. Other groups may not read "How It Works," and the Steps as written, instead substituting "Higher Power," or changing gendered pronouns. Change often begins in the individual groups.
