Daily Traditions · one month, one Tradition
March
Tradition 3 · 31 readings
Tradition 3
"The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking."
Read the Long Form (pp. 563–566). The short form on pp. 561–562 is the one everybody quotes — but the Long Form is where the Traditions actually say what they mean. Tradition 3's "no other affiliation" clause, for instance, exists only in the Long Form. That single clause is why no treatment centre can own an A.A. group. Most of what circulates online skips it.
And a distinction worth keeping straight: the Traditions are governance, not theology. They bind A.A. groups and the Fellowship — not individuals, and not outside businesses. They were adopted in 1950 to keep A.A. from being owned or co-opted. They are not a rulebook for your personal life.
And a distinction worth keeping straight: the Traditions are governance, not theology. They bind A.A. groups and the Fellowship — not individuals, and not outside businesses. They were adopted in 1950 to keep A.A. from being owned or co-opted. They are not a rulebook for your personal life.
March 1
One Alcoholic Judging Another
the threat
March 2
Limited to Alcoholics
before the tradition
March 3
Only in the Long Form
the threat today
March 4
For the Good of the Movement
how a group breaks it
March 5
A Brand of Treatment
how it gets captured
March 6
Won't There Be Criminals?
the threat
March 7
No Alcoholic Excluded
before the tradition
March 8
He Signs Nothing
the threat today
March 9
No Monopoly
how a group breaks it
March 10
Money or Conformity
how it gets captured
March 11
You Can't Keep Us Out
the threat
March 12
Many Backgrounds
before the tradition
March 13
Diagnose Yourself
the threat today
March 14
As a Group
how a group breaks it
March 15
Court of Last Appeal
how it gets captured
March 16
Republican A.A. Groups
the threat
March 17
The Home Which Had Sheltered Them
before the tradition
March 18
Thrown Out of a Club
the threat today
March 19
Thirty Days to Speak
how a group breaks it
March 20
Leave Them Alone
how it gets captured
March 21
Any Way They Liked
the threat
March 22
Homes Were Thrown Open
before the tradition
March 23
Refuse None
the threat today
March 24
Five Dollars at the Door
how a group breaks it
March 25
Gathered for Sobriety
how it gets captured
March 26
None Can Be Forced
the threat
March 27
Twos and Threes and Fives
before the tradition
March 28
May Call Themselves
the threat today
March 29
Who Holds the Password
how a group breaks it
March 30
The Alumni Group
how it gets captured
March 31
Never Exclusive
the threat
JanuaryTradition 1 · liveFebruaryTradition 2 · liveMarchTradition 3 · liveAprilTradition 4 · liveMayTradition 5 · liveJuneTradition 6 · liveJulyTradition 7 · liveAugustTradition 8 · liveSeptemberTradition 9 · liveOctoberTradition 10 · liveNovemberTradition 11 · liveDecemberTradition 12 · live
Daily Traditions is an independent educational resource from Recovery Starts — not official A.A. literature, not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, and not medical advice. The Twelve Traditions are the property of A.A. Page references are to Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book), 4th Edition: short form 561–562, long form 563–566. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).