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"Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this Power?"

Alcoholics Anonymous
We Agnostics
Page 45

Probably the single biggest factor that keeps people away from AA is that it is a spiritual program. It is hard enough for most alcoholics to admit that they need help. Most of us have always handled our problems ourselves and saw asking for help as a sign of weakness. But then to suggest that the solution is in some intangible Higher Power is a pill too difficult for many to swallow.

Some people have been turned-off to religion by hypocrisy in their local church. Other's lives have been so painful that they've just lost all hope and faith in a benevolent God. Still others have a need to intellectualize the existence of a Higher Power and can't do so, which leaves them without faith. And some just don't feel good enough about themselves to believe that God would concern Himself with their self-perceived insignificant lives.

The point is that there are all sorts of agnostics and non-believers that have turned to Alcoholics Anonymous (many as a last resort) and have found a solution. For many the higher power they used was simply the people they meet or the program itself. They were able to see (tangible proof) that others had been helped and that gave them hope. There is no requirement that one has a spiritual belief to try AA. The only requirement is a desire to stop drinking.



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