Do I have to be religious to work the Steps?
In short:
- No. You don't have to belong to a religion or accept anyone else's idea of God. The Big Book says "we mean your own conception of God" (p. 47), and about half the first members thought they were atheists or agnostics (p. 44).
- What the book does ask for is a willingness to believe in a Power greater than yourself. It calls this the starting point, and says that is enough to begin (p. 47).
- The book is open that it is a spiritual book and that it talks about God (p. 45). Five of the Twelve Steps name God or Him. It doesn't pretend otherwise; it leaves the meaning of the word to you.
What the book asks for at the start
Chapter 4 (pp. 44–57), "We Agnostics," was written for the reader this question is about. Its main points, in order: - Something like half the original fellowship "thought we were atheists or agnostics" (p. 44). - The book is "spiritual as well as moral," and so "we are going to talk about God" (p. 45). Here the writers expect the agnostic's face to fall, and say they've shared his doubt; some of them had been "violently anti-religious" (p. 45). - They found they "did not need to consider another's conception of God" (p. 46). Their own conception, however inadequate, was enough to begin. - "When, therefore, we speak to you of God, we mean your own conception of God" (p. 47). - The one question needed at the start: "Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself?" (p. 47) Someone who can say yes to that is "on his way" (p. 47). - How each member conceives of that Power varies widely in the stories, and these "are questions for each individual to settle for himself" (p. 50).
Where the book is not neutral
To be fair to the text, Chapter 4 isn't indifferent about God. It argues, at length, that faith is more reasonable than unbelief (pp. 48–55). It puts the choice starkly: "either God is everything or else He is nothing" (p. 53). It asks agnostics to "lay aside prejudice, even against organized religion" (p. 49), and it ends with the story of a man who thought he was an atheist and came to "conscious companionship with his Creator" (p. 56).
So the book hopes the reader will come to a faith of his own. What it doesn't do is require any religion, church, creed or particular conception of God to start, or to work the Steps.
Appendix II: the spiritual experience
Appendix II, written after the first printing (p. 567), says the "spiritual experience" or "spiritual awakening" the book talks about is a personality change, and that most of these develop slowly (p. 567). Interestingly, it uses "religious experiences" as another name for the same personality changes (p. 567). It then says any alcoholic can recover "provided he does not close his mind to all spiritual concepts" (p. 568), and that "no one need have difficulty with the spirituality of the program" (p. 568). Willingness, honesty and open-mindedness are what's essential (p. 568).
How a member is told to talk about it
Chapter 7 tells the person carrying the message how to handle this with a newcomer: - With an agnostic or atheist, make it plain he doesn't have to agree with your conception of God. "He can choose any conception he likes, provided it makes sense to him" (p. 93). - Use everyday language, and don't raise theological issues "no matter what your own convictions are" (p. 93). - You're not there to instruct anyone in religion (p. 93), and A.A. represents no "particular faith or denomination" (p. 94). - "We have no monopoly on God" (p. 95). If he prefers some other spiritual approach, encourage him to follow his own conscience (p. 95).
The book also has room for people who are religious. Members who belong to a church are told to keep its practices (pp. 74, 87), and everyone is told to "Be quick to see where religious people are right" (p. 87).
Read it yourself
- Chapter 4 (pp. 44–57), "We Agnostics," free from A.A.: https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/en_bigbook_chapt4.pdf
- Appendix II, "Spiritual Experience" (pp. 567–568): https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/en_bigbook_appendiceii.pdf
- Chapter 7, "Working With Others" (pp. 89–103): https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/en_bigbook_chapt7.pdf
- Related: Is A.A. a religious organization?
- Chapter 5, "How It Works" (the Steps, pp. 59–60): https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/en_bigbook_chapt5.pdf
- The full book, Alcoholics Anonymous, is sold by A.A. World Services at https://onlineliterature.aa.org.
Sources
| Source | Pages | First published |
|---|---|---|
| Alcoholics Anonymous, Chapter 4, "We Agnostics" | 44–57 | 1939 |
| Alcoholics Anonymous, Chapter 5, "How It Works" (the Steps) | 59–60 | 1939 |
| Alcoholics Anonymous, Chapter 6, "Into Action" | 74, 87 | 1939 |
| Alcoholics Anonymous, Chapter 7, "Working With Others" | 93–95 | 1939 |
| Alcoholics Anonymous, Appendix II, "Spiritual Experience" | 567–568 | written after the first printing (p. 567); the Preface says the appendices came into the book with the second edition, 1955 (p. xi) |
Page numbers are from the fourth edition (2001). The Preface says the program chapters have been "left largely untouched" since 1939 (p. xi), but our sources have no first edition to compare page numbers against.
Recovery Starts is independent and not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous. Quotations are brief and cited; the Big Book is © A.A. World Services, Inc.
These pages answer questions about A.A. from A.A.'s own published literature, read in full, with every quote checked word for word against the page it cites. Recovery Starts is independent and not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous. What we read, and when each source was written.