I’m going to give it a try tomorrow. But at least now I know there is another on 30 min away that is always an alternative.
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We just gotta try anything. How do we know if something isn’t going to be right if we shut ourselves off from it because we think that we don’t agree with the principles.
Ultimately, it’s a room full of people who are like us.
As has been said above look for similarities.
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I just posted a similar post earlier today. Check my post as someone added a link to a couple different programs, one being Buddhist and another more science based. I too feel uncomfortable with a religious based program. Positive thoughts to you.
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I’ve heard people do this. And it’s been accepted very well.
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Hey there,
Im not atheist, but I just wanted to say I am so rooting for you, regardless. Everyone deserves sobriety and believe it or not believing in God (like me) or believing in a god, or just spirituality or nothing at all, doesnt make it somehow easier one way or the other. I’ve encountered all sorts of people and someone once said to me, look for the similarities and not the differences you will find the rest will settle eventually. Ever since my faith started I’ve always had this massive urge to defend my faith. But NA isnt about who’s right or wrong its about a group of people who all have the same goal. I have seen that being open to spiritual concepts is necessary because the program is based around it, it says God “of your understanding” on purpose. I found it difficult at the start to accept that other peoples spirituality looked different to mine. But when I started looking for the similarities, that’s where the magic happened. We all want to get sober. We all need help. We all want to see other addicts succeed even if we cant. We all know the struggle of being an addict. We all accept that no matter how hard we try alone it doesnt work…not long term. You may not believe in a paranormal God, I’ve seen people who believe that the universe itself is the closest thing to spirituality someone can accept. My point is. Whatever that looks like for you…try to find the similarities and focus on that, not the differences. Having a God or not, makes no difference when it comes to being an addict. We all bleed the same.
I am rooting for you, I hope you find something that gives you the sobriety you so deserve. God or no God, you are so worth it!!
All the love!
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And p.s using the words “open to spiritual concepts” applies just as much to someone like me as it does to you. I have to be open to the idea that my belief looks different to someone else’s spirituality. I have to simmer myself as much as an atheist in my group would have to. I have to hold my tongue when I disagree and just accept people as they are the same way an atheist in my group would need to do for me.
Fighting for sobriety is difficult. And I would argue impossible, alone.
Irrespective of different belief systems or world views, there is no judgement because at my meetings…Hi my name is Stacey and I’m an addict…just like everyone else there.
I am new in my sobriety, the struggle is real. But I’m not alone. To me it is beautiful to see so many different kinds of people, all fighting for themselves and the people in group for just another day sober.
I have a close friend in NA who believes something totally different to me. And sure outside of group we have had some good yarns. But it’s always with love and respect and we support one another in our sobriety. At the end of the day that is the similarity that holds different people in NA together. “We can only keep what we have, if we give it away”. Someone can be loving and kind and beautiful with no belief in God at all.
I’ve heard it 1000 times, “just keep coming back”. My first few meetings I felt very awkward and out of place, kinda like an imposter (P.s I already had my faith at this point). But I keep going back and little by little I’m putting the pieces of my life back together.
I believe in you! Got you in my thoughts! I hope you settle into some peace soon. Dont ever forget how valuable you are. I don’t care if you believe in God or not; you are so valuable.
Okay rant over.
Night night
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These are some very good points. I am close to a few people who believe in God to varying degrees, while I believe in the spirituality of energy. We have zero issues with one another’s beliefs, mostly because none of us can prove the other is wrong and we accept that. At the end of the day, we don’t care who is right because as @Mephistopheles has brought up, we are all just following our moral compass. We are living our best lives to the best of our abilities and always trying to improve.
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I really don’t care whether there is a “God” or a “higher power” or someone believes a rock in the garden is god.
As long as it keeps me sober I’ll keep doing what is recommended and pray to a god of my understanding- and I still don’t know what it is but it’s working
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But did you have to copy and paste the whole chapter Daz?? 
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Yep- I just wanted to sit here with the satisfaction that people are having to scroll down for ages 
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It is a God OF YOUR UNDERSTANDING. Worship your favorite pair of boots, if you like. Youre just meant to realize a comfortability in surrendering to something bigger than you. That’s all. Youre welcome to have faith in whatever you want. Lots of atheists attend AA. 
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If you would like to read a little about how this has developed for me, you can find it here: First AA meeting in one hour
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I didnt care about god when i first went to meetings i wanted to stay sober , used to make exscuse long before this when my wife asked me to stop because i didnt ? wish you well
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I used to say the same thing as i am an athiest. Most of the aa meetings ive been to are about 5 mins of prayer at the end. There are smart meetings ive heard but aa meetings are just more readily available where i live. I just go for what i need it for. Some meetings arent as religion based. Though i am considering not calling myself an athiest and just being me. Atheism is almost a religion in itself and they seem to shun other peoples beliefs. Thats not what im about so hearing about religion doesnt bother me.
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I’m new here and new to not drinking. 18 days new. I’m interested in the support and concept of AA but have yet to attend a meeting.
As a lifelong agnostic and a believer of personal responsibility and accountability, I firmly believe that I am the one who made the choice to drink and I also believe in my own power to stop drinking.
God has very little to do with any of this. For me.
Does anyone else feel the same?
Are there support groups that focus on a similar ideology?
I’d love to hear anyone’s suggestions.
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There are more and more atheist/agnostic/free thinker AA groups around. There are at least three in my neck of the woods.
It can be very difficult for some of us to separate religion from spirituality. And there are many groups with a long custom of incorporating religion, in particular the “Lord’s Prayer” as a fundamental component of the meeting format.
Generally, I can get along with revising the language of the readings in my head during a meeting. I have a definitively non-religious conception of a higher power. It started with two elements - the people in AA who obviously know how to stay sober when I did not, and the Department of Corrections who told me where to go and what to do with consequences for failing to comply. My concept has progressed now to an acknowledgement that there is a super-human or post-human essence to our being, a universal force that flows throughout all beings, all planets, all time and space. I think of it by identifying myself as an organelle in a cell in an organ in a body in a culture on a planet, etc etc etc. I am a tiny part of a whole, and that whole is what so often has been perceived through a skewed lens to result in sectarian interpretations that allow no tolerance for other views.
Anyhow, the AA program works just fine for atheists and agnostics who want to maintain their philosophical basis. I hope you find some like minded folk.
Blessings on your house 
- which is another way of saying that if you are open to the universe, it will reveal itself to you.
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I am an atheist in AA - there are many of us. If you are interested, perhaps consider setting a goal to check out a few different meetings and see if there is anything said that jives with you.
There are many topics on this subject on this forum - here is a similar one ongoing at this time: AA for athiest
You can check out other threads on this topic by using the search function (magnifying glass).
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And if you would like to read a little about my journey in AA, you can find it here: First AA meeting in one hour
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I think I’m likely misreading this, but I have to say your comment struck me as vaguely condescending, especially as someone who believes that I can do (and am doing) this sobriety thing under my own power. Yes, with support (and I think that might be what OP is asking about), but ultimately this doesn’t work unless I tap into my own inner power. Definitely not trying to disrespect what works for others, but I believe the solution is not outside of me because the core of the problem is not outside of me. Ultimately it is up to me to solve those problems. But hey, life may very well prove that I have no idea what I’m talking about. Lord knows it wouldn’t be the first time!
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