AA's 12 Steps use the word God four times. They also refer to "Him" three times, to a higher "Power," a "spiritual awakening," and prayer.
Nearly every step has a reference to spirituality of some kind and most of them are laced with Christian undertones.
More generally the idea behind the 12 steps is to place yourself in the hands of this higher power and allow it to guide you. Basically it requires a belief in prayer.
AA has worked for many many people--which is wonderful and it is demonstrably a great tool for them! But an atheist, humanist, or more generally someone who doesn't believe in spirituality is going to have to go through significant mental gymnastics to deal with the 12 Steps.
It seems to me that if someone doesn't believe in God or a higher power of any kind, there are probably better first line treatments for alcohol addiction. It isn't necessary for an atheist to change their spiritual or religious beliefs in order to recover. Therapy, medication and secular support groups all exist.
I came here to say the same (but undoubtedly not nearly as well as yourself).
It was the religious stuff that put me off completely. Being in a group of people all there with a common cause I felt was quite powerful. Hearing shared experiences from the community was helpful. I just couldn't pretend I was OK with peddling any form of faith.
You can take God as an euphemism for nature or more general something beyond your control. If he exists he probably wouldn't hold it against you. You don't have to deceive yourself to a degree to believe it. You probably can watch a Batman movie without believing in Batman.
I would be skeptical too and it can certainly have a negative impact on addiction groups. Although I would think these negative factors to be worse for people actually believing it. Some people classify them as a sect, but I wouldn't go that far to be honest.
But if it doesn't work for you, I think there are other groups or those that set the focus elsewhere.
Nearly every step has a reference to spirituality of some kind and most of them are laced with Christian undertones.
More generally the idea behind the 12 steps is to place yourself in the hands of this higher power and allow it to guide you. Basically it requires a belief in prayer.
AA has worked for many many people--which is wonderful and it is demonstrably a great tool for them! But an atheist, humanist, or more generally someone who doesn't believe in spirituality is going to have to go through significant mental gymnastics to deal with the 12 Steps.
It seems to me that if someone doesn't believe in God or a higher power of any kind, there are probably better first line treatments for alcohol addiction. It isn't necessary for an atheist to change their spiritual or religious beliefs in order to recover. Therapy, medication and secular support groups all exist.