If you've heard only one word associated with AA, it's probably religion. Alcoholics Anonymous was founded on principles of the Oxford Movement, a kind of self-improvement religious movement in the early 20th Century. God is mentioned in five of the 12 steps. And prayers are recited at every meeting. No secret, right?

But do a quick Google search for "AA and religion" and you'll get links that say AA is a "stealth religion" and a "cult". So what is it really? As books and court cases have been written on this subject, this article's intent is only to broadly introduce you to several sides of the issue. It's a launch point, if you will.

Religious
A professor in an article in the journal Sociological Analysis writes that "it's [AA] statement that it's "spiritual, not religious' is ambiguous." It's obvious from reading any of AA's literature that there is a religious grounding for the group especially by referring to the capital "h" in God.

In an article on beliefnet.com titled "AA: America's Stealth Religion," the author says:

Like other religions, 12-steppism seeks to redeem troubled lives; requires penitence and confession; seeks to improve a person's ethics in dealing with others; encourages regular attendance at meetings that involve inspirational speeches, witnessing, and prayer and has genuine and hypocritical adherents.

But to many members, that doesn't matter. From the website cyberrecovery.net, a member writes:

Today's anti-A.A. writers (and there are an increasing number) spend a lot of time claiming either that A.A. is a religion and perhaps even a ';cult'; or that A.A. is not 'religious'; but 'spiritual' instead or that there is nothing religious about A.A., nor is religion anything but a taboo subject in A.A.

My first reaction is, so what.

Many people who go into AA find value in the program. They don't come out "more religious". To be sure, though, AA's references to God may turn some people off.

Here is how some courts have viewed AA:

If you had asked the New York courts in 1996, they would have told you that AA engages in religious activity and religious proselytization." That was their ruling when prison inmate and heroin addict, David Griffin, refused to attend AA meetings in prison because he had agnostic views.

In 1999, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled an atheist man's constitutional rights were violated for having to participate in the "religion-tinged Alcoholics Anonymous program." He was mandated to go as part of his drunken driving sentence.

Ten years later, a Pennsylvania appellate court ruled that the use of a building for AA meetings was not an "exercise of religion."

Cult
Thomas Lynch, in an article on beliefnet.com called "AA: Not Religious, Not a Cult," says this about AA:

My church, my Rotary club, and my bowling league are each more cultish than A.A. is. It takes no tithes, commissions, fines, or fees. There's no kool-aid to drink, communion to take, secret codes, or insignia. A.A. does not work by shame or guilt or fear or pride or power. It works by surrender, letting go, giving up, listening. It does not promise salvation, justice, fortune, or a better figure. You may come and go as you please. It claims no corner on the market of God. In fact, the only article of faith it requires is that if there's a God, it isn't me.

A member on a forum for living sober says this:

If AA is a cult it has to be one of the oddest cults of all, think about it, how many cults have you heard of that:

1. You can believe [sic] or not believe[sic] in a HP[higher power] of your choice.
2. You can quit with no backlash from members.
3. You can quit and come back as often as you like with no backlash from members.
4. You can follow the suggestions if you wish or not.
5. You can attend drunk as a skunk for years.
6. You can put money in the basket or not.
7. There are no rules.

Spiritual
A man who identifies himself as "Agent Orange" and runs a website called orange-papers.org is highly critical of all things AA. Here's what he says about AA's claim of being "spiritual, not religious."

"A.A. claims that it should not be limited by the laws that demand separation of church and state, because A.A. is not a church or a religion. But the distinction between ';religious'; and ';spiritual'; is completely artificial, and quite meaningless, and is as phony as a three-dollar bill." You can read his long explanation for this claim on his website.

Another website with the subtitle "Muckraking the 12-Step Industry," sums up the distinction of religious vs. spiritual this way:

AA is religious because, if you want to get well, you don't get to decide what "well" means for you; you don't get to decide your place in the universe, the nature of your Higher Power, or how you contact it, and you think and speak in cliches. If your definition of "spiritual" is all about exuberance, creativity, agency, and personal responsibility, then you're going to have to add a major dose of cognitive dissonance to your understanding in order to work a good program.

Here's how the Santa Clara, CA, AA defends their position as "spiritual".

Because most alcoholics have been unable to manage things on their own, they seem to find effective therapy in the decision to turn their destiny over to a power greater than themselves. Many A.A.s refer to this power as ';God.'; Others consider the A.A. group as the power to be relied upon. The word "spiritual" in A.A. may be interpreted as broadly as one wants. Certainly, one feels a certain spirit of togetherness at all A.A. meetings!

Summary
Scour the web and you'll find plenty of critics of AA, many who have been through years of AA meetings only to leave feeling indoctrinated. Others find fellowship with alcoholics, get clean, and leave AA for good.

There are elements of religion, spirituality, and even some aspects of a cult, by definition, if you look for them. And if you look for it, you may also find AA is what's needed to get you sober. The best way to find out if AA is for you is to go to a meeting.

Sources:
www.orange-papers.org
www.aasanjose.org
http://stinkin-thinkin.com/2011/03/09/4-reasons-why-aa-is-religious/
http://www.mentalhelp.net
http://www.beliefnet.com/