Is Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous a cult?
Now, I am a Christian, but I read this article about Alcoholics Anonymous and why some Atheists think it is a cult, and I have to say I agree. I started to feel this way when last year I moved in with a roommate who insisted I needed AA, despite the fact that I literally have less then 1 drink a month. She kept telling me I needed "spiritual healing" and I thought "no, I don't, I have all the spirit I need".
I don't know. I have just met a lot of people who have been in AA or NA and it seems like they are all brain washed. Most of them will insist you are an addict, even if you don't drink or do drugs and they will just tell you that you are in denial if you disagree.
What do you think?
Update:
Comments
I'm a former alcoholic and was an AA member for nine years.
Based on my experience, yes, I believe that AA is a cult. The philosophy of the group is that the individual is powerless and needs to surrender to a "higher power" ("God as I understand him") in order to recover. This very idea keeps people sick and tied to the group forever, where they often (not always) become isolated, inbred and brainwashed.
I agree with Taf that many AA members are perfectly well meaning people. However, their good intentions do not mean that the group is not a cult. I imagine that many of the members of FLDS are well meaning too and truly believe they are practicing God's will, just like the Jim Jones folks etc. It isn't intent that counts, it's outcome.
Which brings me to the next point. While the cult question is interesting, it evades the real issue which is whether or not AA actually works as advertised. Here, the answer is clear: NO.
Take a look at the following website, which contains a thorough complilation of the research regarding the effectiveness of AA. It is very eye opening. There's some information on the cult question, too, on the site:
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-effectiveness....
I am not a fan of the AA 12-step program because it is repackaged religion and although some or maybe many AA members ignorantly coerce others into this blinkered lifestyle and outlook, they do not hit the criteria for being a cult. Neither are most AA members 'bad' people.
I don't think you have met many AA members, because of the thousands I have met, I doubt if any would try to convince you you needed AA if you don't do any drink or drugs as you state. Simply untrue.
As for Jack Trimpet, he is the other side of the same coin. He is extreme and vehement and vindictive. He has a different, more workable basis for getting sober, but he is just as much a nut as anyone he talks about in AA.
You have, in my opinion, overgeneralised and exaggerated based on your small amount of experience with AA. Many AA members are pretty decent people even though their Christian based program does not sort their problems out that influenced them to drink in the first place and actually holds them back from finding workable solutions.
I am currently attending an Intensive Out-Patient program through the VA and they are pushing AA and NA as if it is the ONLY source for getting clean. Not making good life decisions, not figuring out your triggers, none of that. It is all AA and NA is the only way and if you don't do it then you are never going to become clean. I call total bullshit! I am an agnostic and even though I don't deny a higher power I know that I don't need to be scared into sobriety. I am doing it myself. Admitted, some people need that eternal bashing and shame crap in order to do better, but some of us don't.
I look at my addiction as one of the people commented earlier. It isn't a disease, it was bad life choices, and I used it to cover up my emotions and my fear of confrontation. The solution? Make better life choices and learn that confrontation is just part of life lol. People bash me daily at the VA for not wanting to go to AA or NA and they seem like they get off on it. It's SUPER creepy. Anyone who says it isn't a cult really hasn't been hammered by those that push AA or NA. You can read as many articles as you want but you will never know the truth until you get bombarded by these cultists. It is a cult and it's a scary one to me because it is considered the ONLY way to get clean.
It isn't a cult but the majority of the people that go through the program try and so hard to find other people that have the same problems they do that way they don't feel so bad for being stupid the biggest problem that I have with AA and NA is that they try and tell people that the addictions they have are a disease and that it isn't their fault but they should do all of this stuff and it will cure them instead of making them admit to themselves it is a choice they make and their own fault so know it isn't a cult the warped thinking is brought on by their own messed up minds but there are a few who go through the program and do just fine the difference is a cult warps your mind to think their way AA and NA try to use the same methods that worked for one to straighten out the minds of every idiot and it doesn't always work because some people don't want to change
aa was started by 2 christians, and many of the daily readings are very biblicle, example we shouldn't judge others etc: they also have steps that are actually very good making amends to those you have wronged or trying to help others in their addiction. I am a facilitator in a recovery house for addicts, and I go to the occasional aa meeting, if the program was left alone as it was started it would be very good but over the years the world has really crept in for example aa people always talk about higher power, originally that would have been God, but now it can literally be a doughnut, how can a doughnut help? All in all it's still very helpful to addicts and does lead some of them to Christ.
Aa Brainwashing
i was brought up by a nurse in the addiction field and an AA member, they met at rehab, one doing her job, the other looking for answers. my Dad drank and abused drugs till i was 15, thus i learned the best way to cope was w/a brewsky. & believe me i was given alot to cope with from the beginning.
at 15 upon Dad's newfound way of life they decided I needed treatment for alcoholism. I was also in and out of jouvenile mental health treatment hospitals...they said i was Bi-polar.
I'm 40 now and after trying "the program" i've come to learn abuse of drugs and alcohol was cuz i was self-medicating the bi-polar...i'm stable on meds now& it took some trial & error. i drink once in awhile...New Years i bought a 6pack of hard lemonades, drank 1 1/2 & got a headache.. i've outgrown "getting high"
Yes, i had a problem, actually lots of them, it only took alot of time to figure out what they truely were.
in my opinion "the program" is like some therapy...you go over all these painful things over & over again looking for the answer when all your really doing is opening up old wounds & feeling the pain again.
Sure i did dumb stuff, why should i go thru the program & let them asign SHAME & self-doubt, anger towards myself by admitting all my wrong doings to another human being??
I'm over it...it is what it is, it was what it was. I've moved forward.
>>>I have just met a lot of people who have been in AA or NA and it seems like they are all brain washed.<<<
How many is "a lot"?
I know some people in AA, and never have I gotten the impression that they try to tell other people they are addicts, or try to tell them what to do.
I know one guy really well, who is in AA who has been sober for 8 years. He doesn't judge other people or tell them what to do. He even hangs out with other people when they are drinking. He doesn't worry about what they do; he focuses on his own sobriety.
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AA and NA are not cults. Sometimes the people that are in these programs can come on to strong because there are afraid that they will lose their grip and start drinking again. As far as Christianity and drinking go God has nothing against drinking unless you are constantly drinking ands wasting your life that way
I have read about their 10 Step program.
I think they have helped many people over the years!
I do have to wonder why your friend would say that.
Some people think that anyone that has
1 drink per month needs help!
What I would ask someone is do you suffer socially
when you drink.
Do family members tell you your personality has changed?
Do friends or family members think you have trouble coping in your life?
Do you have a history of alcoholism?
From the details that you have mentioned it does not sound like you are one.
People say you can be addicted with just one drink, though!
It sounds like your friend really cares and does not want to see anything bad happen to you!