Full Answer
How do atheists and agnostics recover from addiction?
Jun 02, 2017 · If you’re an atheist in addiction recovery, you’ll need something else to express your higher power. Science or Reason are both great examples of higher power you can use for recovery. Those who do not believe in God are just as capable recovering from addiction as …
Is there an AA for atheists and agnostics?
Oct 09, 2020 · Atheists will work on developing the personal attributes and skills to help them overcome their addiction without needing to blame a higher being or themselves for failing to believe in a higher power. Many successful rehabilitation treatments are not based on any religion or faith but on psychological and scientific advancements.
Does religion improve recovery from addiction?
Feb 27, 2020 · Here are 4 ways atheists and agnostics recover from addiction. 1. AA for Agnostics. There is a sect of Alcoholics Anonymous specifically for agnostics, freethinkers, and atheists. They even published a book called The History of Agnostics in AA. AA Agnostica and Secular AA are two groups promoting the religion-free version of AA.
Do people know you're an atheist when you give a speech?
Aug 12, 2012 · Another important book for atheists and agnostics in AA is The Alternative 12 Steps: A Secular Guide to Recovery. As the authors, Arlys G and Martha Cleveland, so wonderfully put it in this pioneering work: “We can learn the universal, …
Can I go to AA if I don't believe in God?
Yes, although you may have to do some internal mental gymnastics to be cool with it.
Do you have to be religious to do the 12 steps?
You Don't Have to Be Religious to Attend 12-Step Programs No. While the 12 Steps were inspired by spiritual ideals, a 12-step program itself is not religious at all.
What does secular recovery mean?
The themes of most secular recovery groups are illustrated in LifeRing's “Three-S” philosophy: sobriety (“We do not drink or use, no matter what.”), secularity (the inclusion of people of all faiths and no faith within a mutual support process that emphasizes achieving recovery through human rather than divine ...
Does AA believe in God?
AA does believe that alcoholism/addiction is too powerful to overcome by self-will alone. The “higher power” or God referred to in the steps is benevolent, caring, loving, and wants to help men and women defeat their addictions.
Can you do AA if you're not religious?
Non-Religious AA Meetings Most AA programs in major cities offer meetings designated as atheist or agnostic. Non-religious AA meetings can be found on any city's Intergroup website. More importantly, attracting new and regular members will keep this variant AA program afloat.Jan 13, 2020
Is there an AA that isn't religious?
There are many nonreligious, or secular, AA-type groups to choose from, fortunate. These rehabilitation service organizations are made up of agnostics, atheists, humanists, and freethinkers. According to the New York Times, up to 150 of them are employed in the United States today.Mar 23, 2021
What is aa Agnostica?
AA Agnostica is meant to be a helping hand for the alcoholic who reaches out to Alcoholics Anonymous for help and finds that she or he is disturbed by the religious content of many AA meetings.Dec 7, 2017
What is a SOS meeting?
SOS (Save Our Selves) is a non-profit network of autonomous, non-professional local groups dedicated solely to helping individuals achieve and maintain sobriety. There are groups meeting in many cities throughout the country.
What are secular AA meetings?
Secular AA is a movement within Alcoholics Anonymous that seeks to widen our gateway so that all who suffer may pass through and find long-term sobriety in AA regardless of their belief or lack of belief in a god.
What do you call someone who believes in a higher power but not God?
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable.
Is AA based on the Bible?
Historians have traced the genesis of the 12 step programs in Alcoholics Anonymous back to the Oxford Group, an evangelistic movement from the early 1900s. Dr. Frank Buchman, a Lutheran minister from Pennsylvania Dutch heritage, was the founder of the Oxford Group.
Does a higher power have to be God?
A lot of people think that a higher power means God. And that's what it is for many people, but it doesn't have to be. At its core, a higher power is something that you believe is controlling the universe. It could be nature, the sun or moon, or you can even say the universe, itself.Jan 31, 2020
Do You Need a Higher Power?
In the mid-1930s, the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous wrote the 12 Steps, a series of actions that they believed would help alcoholics achieve sobriety. The steps include admitting that one has a problem with alcohol, making amends for past mistakes, and seeking to help other alcoholics.
Your Path to Sobriety
Joining a 12 Step group is not the only way to achieve sobriety. You might go to rehab, for example. Rehab is not necessarily spiritual in nature. While some are faith-based, others are secular. You might attend inpatient rehab, in which you’d live at the facility for a period of 1 to 3 months.
What Atheists and Religious People Have in Common
No matter your religion or lack thereof, some things will ring true for everybody who struggles with a drug or alcohol addiction.
Need Help?
Rehab Info is here to serve people of all religious beliefs, even if you have no religious beliefs at all. You may feel that you don’t have enough options as an atheist, or you may feel that you have so many options you couldn’t possibly know where to start.
What are the abilities of an atheist in drug rehab?
Atheists are able to utilize the enhanced personal skills learned in drug rehab to adhere to sobriety. This is done in one’s own power, and without reverence to a higher being for the hard work that has been put into such a life-changing process.
What is the importance of vulnerability in rehabilitation?
And as you move forward, it is essential that you feel as if you can let your guard down in order to rid yourself of the burden of addiction. The last thing you want to do is feel as if you are fighting to be understood during a program that is to be a welcoming and healing environment.
Why is it hard to interpret the evidence for spiritual recovery?
However, the evidence is hard to interpret because the methodology used in many of the studies is poor. People who incorporate their religion into recovery ...
How effective is substance abuse treatment?
Effective treatment for substance abuse addresses the multiple needs of the person and not just their use of drugs or alcohol. A crucial component to a successful treatment outcome is to remain in treatment for a sufficient length of time.
What is a smart recovery?
Some of the major organizations that offer nonreligious environments that are appropriate for atheist or agnostic individuals include the following: Smart Management and Recovery Training ( SMART recovery) is a nonspiritual, nonreligious approach to empowering people to achieve successful recovery from substance abuse.
What is medical detox?
Medically assisted detoxification (medical detox) is only the first step in recovery. If individuals only receive medical detox services, there is little change in their substance abuse behavior. Individuals require long-term treatment programs after medical detox.
Do people with religious beliefs have a lower rate of substance abuse?
Individuals who have committed spiritual or religious beliefs appear to have lower rates of substance abuse than those who do not. There does appear to be evidence that individuals in recovery who have spiritual and religious convictions may have better overall outcomes than those who don’t.
Do you have to be voluntary to get treatment for substance use disorder?
Substance use disorder treatment does not have to be voluntary in order for it to be effective. Individuals who are coerced into treatment have similar outcomes to individuals who volunteered to enter treatment. Those in substance use disorder treatment programs should be continuously monitored for drug and alcohol use.
Is Alcoholics Anonymous a 12-Step program?
Moreover, most of the research that is available regarding 12-Step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous does not suggest that these programs are any more successful than recovery programs that have no religious or spiritual component to them.
What do atheists find comfort in?
When faced with the death of a loved one , or other traumatic experience , many atheists find comfort in reason and knowledge that this is the way life is and has always been without needing to understand that it was the purpose or path that a higher being or god was intending.
What are the spiritual practices of an atheist?
Atheists may have specified spiritual practices in which they participate such as meditation, yoga or personal rituals such as consuming specific foods or drinks. They often will find strength in their beliefs in people, science and facts that enable them to overcome adversity and find reason in the way of the world.
What is the best treatment for substance abuse?
Cognitive behavior therapy is one of the most popular treatments that is available for substance abusers. This therapy works two-fold by firstly analyzing the individuals approach to life, behaviors, thoughts and environment and identifying the triggers and issues that have contributed to the addiction.
What does it mean to not adhere to a belief system?
Not adhering to a specified belief system does not mean that a person has no morals and will develop an addiction easier than others. Drug and alcohol abuse is a disease that can affect anyone regardless of age, religion, socio-economic status, employment or marital status.
Why is spirituality important?
Spirituality can play an important role in guiding people and bringing inner peace, self awareness and a purpose in life. When a person has a sense of spirituality, they can be less selfish, experience life satisfaction, peace and become more altruistic.
What is the definition of atheism?
Atheism Defined. Atheism is the rejection of deities or Gods and denies, including in some cases spirits and the supernatural. Often, atheists are considered to be people who place their faith in science, reason and facts that are supported with substantial, proven evidence. Many people believe that atheists do not represent or involve themselves ...
Do atheists believe in spirituality?
Many people believe that atheists do not represent or involve themselves in spirituality however this is not always the truth. Spirituality and belief in a specified religion are considered to be two separate things. Atheists face the challenge of substance abuse as often as those who do have a faith in a religion.
What is the idea behind Alcoholics Anonymous?
The thinking in Alcoholics Anonymous is that addiction is a spiritual problem that needs to be solved through the 12 steps and belief in a higher power. In fact, in the Big Book, there is a chapter dedicated to agnostics and atheists that claims by the time the book is read the person reading it will become a believer.
Do AA groups recite prayers?
Secular AA groups do not recite prayers at the beginning or end of their meetings, nor do they suggest that a belief in God is required to get sober or maintain sobriety – a key difference from traditional AA.
Is there an agnostic sect in AA?
There is a sect of Alcoholics Anonymous specifically for agnostics, freethinkers, and atheists. They even published a book called The History of Agnostics in AA. AA Agnostica and Secular AA are two groups promoting the religion-free version of AA. Secular AA groups do not recite prayers at the beginning or end of their meetings, nor do they suggest that a belief in God is required to get sober or maintain sobriety – a key difference from traditional AA. Readings at these types of meetings include traditional AA literature as well as a copy of the secular version of the 12 steps. Secular AA still maintains the principles of the 12 traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous and they encourage members to share their experience with AA as a whole through the General Service structure. They provide an international service network for the Agnostic, Atheist, and Freethinking in AA.
Why did people give up playing God?
Most of these people gave up playing God because they came to believe there is a God – and so of course they accept that they can’t possibly be Him. Perfectly logical.
Does God Hypothesis fit your heart?
Having given the God hypothesis a fair shot over the years, you found it doesn’t fit your honest experience of the world. You’d kind of like to believe it, it would make some things much easier, but you know in your heart that the universe doesn’t hear or answer prayers.
Is confession and restitution religious?
Yeah, that’s what it started as in the Oxford Groups, from which early AA took its original steps. Confession and restitution, they called it. But the principles involved are practical and ethical, not religious. Before you can set off in the right direction, you need to know where you are just now.
Can you pray to reality?
To accommodate using reality as your higher power, you will have to bend the steps some from their current and now canonical wording. You can’t pray to reality, but you can form and express your intention to live by its rules. And you can meditate in order to cultivate mindfulness of what’s real.
Can you accept reality as your higher power?
You can accept reality as your Higher Power. You’ll be told you can choose your own Higher Power. In the AA literature this is very clearly just a placeholder for God, a way to get started on the path to finding Him. But in the rooms things are generally much more lax.
Can you get loaded recreationally if you are an alcoholic?
They have a willingness to live life on life’s terms. And the most important of those terms is that if you’re an alcoholic or an addict, you can’t get loaded recreationally.
Why is it so hard to be an atheist in a small town?
In a small town it can make things more difficult because the overly-religious group may be all that is available. The atheist then has the option of putting up with the god talk, driving to a bigger city, starting their own meeting , or just giving up on AA altogether.
What is the belief of the AA?
The theist idea of such a higher power is God. The belief of many AA members is that their God is giving them the power to beat their addiction. Atheists are not able to share this idea of a god who is saving them from addiction. This makes it difficult for them to move onto step three which states:
What is rational recovery?
There are now plenty of other recovery options that they can choose from such as: * Rational Recovery is a program where there is no requirement to adopt any spiritual philosophy. This recovery solution also does away with the need to attend meetings because it views such continued support as detrimental.
Why is AA important?
This is because AA encourages the member to believe in a higher power as they understand it. This means that the individual is free to interpret this as they wish. Some will view nature as their higher power while others will see it as the power of the group.
Can an atheist work the 12 steps?
Some atheists do manage to find a place within the twelve step program, but for others this is not an attractive proposition. There is also the claim that it is not possible to be an atheist and work the twelve steps. This is because so many of these steps require belief in a higher power.
Is there a religious AA meeting?
Religious AA Meetings. There are undoubtedly some AA meetings that have more of a religious flavor than others. It can be uncomfortable for the atheist to sit through meetings where there is a lot of talk about God. This isn’t such a big problem in big cities because there will be plenty of meetings to choose from.
Is Alcoholics Anonymous a cult?
Some people view Alcoholics Anonymous as a type of cult. By attending the meetings the members are pressured into accepting certain ideas about addiction and how it should be cured. They are taught to believe that alcoholism is a disease, and that the only cure for this is god.
Conventional Facilities
Atheist Options
- Thankfully, most centers are willing to treat your addiction without focusing on religious ideas. There is nothing wrong with expecting a drug treatment center to be considerate of your individual needs. And according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “the best treatment addresses a person’s various needs, not just his or her drug use.” The institute also explains that it is importa…
An Atmosphere of Success
- Rehabilitation requires an acute level of vulnerability. And as you move forward, it is essential that you feel as if you can let your guard down in order to rid yourself of the burden of addiction. The last thing you want to do is feel as if you are fighting to be understood during a program that is to be a welcoming and healing environment. Atheist drug or alcohol rehabilitation centers offer ma…
Recovery
- Atheists are able to utilize the enhanced personal skills learned in drug rehab to adhere to sobriety. This is done in one’s own power, and without reverence to a higher being for the hard work that has been put into such a life-changing process. Many atheists appreciate the ability of the human brain to re-direct itself after a period of sobriety....
Finding An Atheist Rehab
- Jumping into the rehabilitation process might not be the first thing on your mind. After all, the journey to recovery can seem like a daunting process. The truth is that rehabilitation is a lot of hard work. Contact us at RehabCenter.netto learn more information about atheist rehab facilities near you.
Religion and Substance Abuse
Principles of Effective Treatment
- Despite the evidence that religion and spiritual approaches may enhance outcomes in recovery from substance use disorders, it should be noted that the overall body of research regarding the effective principles of substance use disorder treatment does not specify the contribution of spiritual-based or religious-based interventions as important factors in evidence-based treatmen…
What Types of Programs Incorporate Religion Or Spirituality Into Treatment?
- Virtually all treatments for substance abuse, such as medication management, behavioral therapy, or alternative therapies, are based on the need to adopt a spiritual or religious approach. The use of medications will be just as effective whether or not a person has a commitment to a divine supreme being or spiritual beliefs. The use of behavioral therapies, such as Cognitive Behaviora…
Options For Nonreligious, Agnostic, Or Atheist Individuals
- Individuals who do not wish to be involved in programs that focus on spirituality or a religious doctrine, but still wish to become involved in peer support groups that allow them to freely interact with others in recovery, can readily find groups to suit their needs. Some of the major organizations that offer nonreligious environments that are app...