12 step origins

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Are the 12 step programs coneccted in any way to Catholic tradition?
 
They were originally at one point. Though in my experience the culture has become vehemently anti catholic.

However the oxford group which it was based on was mostly fundamentalist protestant.

There were earlier catholic things through maximillian kolbe and Matt talbot.
 
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I was more interested in the origins of the 12steps. I heard that the Jesuits had 12 steps before AA started.
 
It might depend on the group.
I belong to another online forum where an atheist member was complaining bitterly about how religious 12 step programs were because they talk about a higher power.
OTOH, he didn’t say if it was a Catholic group or another religion.
 
There was a priest and a nun that had a hand in the creation of AA and a lot of people forget that.

But OP, I assume you are talking about some earlier reflective Jesuit discipline?

I dont know explicit details but I have heard similar things.

However in common vernacular almost all modern era twelve step programs originated with the oxford group and what Bill Wilson defined as the twelve steps for alcoholics anonymous. You just can’t get away from it.

Anyway. I am awaiting your reply.

12 step culture is slightly Masonic in nature these days but it is still accepted by the mainstream church.

The thing is there is no dogma.

The big book of AA also slightly jabs at the divine nature of Christ and he is intentionally dismissed and allocated at the same time. It is a very awkward paragraph after the whole belladonna episode.

The nature of God is intentionally vague and human defined in all their literature which is something I have a problem with as a Catholic but it is something I enjoy as a comparative theologian.
 
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Thanks: Usually 12 step programs are non-religious but their roots are in Christianity. The first AA members attended the Oxford group first before going off on their own and setting up AA. The Oxford group was not affiliated to any particular denomination of Christianity. The Oxford group had a 6-step program but I suspect all step programs originate from the Catholic Church, probably instigated for the clergy to do repentance.
 
Unfortunately the oxford group was also pro Nazi Party. And it was quite protestant.
 
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Hence,one of the reasons it did not survive. AA does not get involved in politics so therefore avoids all these pitfalls.
 
It was non denominational in structure but was popular with protestants, I believe.
 
Fwiw I think it’s a good thing that we have it in America. But I have serious doubts that bill w is everything he’s cracked up to be. And I find 12 step social culture stagnating and restrictive and sometimes even can be abusive. But that’s just my opinion.
 
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I get the feeling from reading history, that before WW2 and the way Germany played out, a lot of people were attracted to the Nazi party.
Kind of like how Comminism was a popular idea with the working class and Hollywood before Stalin.
 
The original AA was best. Now there are a lot of outside influences which effect the message and the solution. There is quite an influential “new age movement" at the top of AA circles now who believe that we seek the solution to our problem within ourselves. They believe in using control methods like Meditation, Yoga, Mindfulness, going to the gym. This is all at odds with the original solution which was, "trust God, clean house, help others". The AA third step, the most important step is:" … we hand our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understand him…". Also, Society has gone over to using medication for help with addictions in the last few decades. This also effects the AA message as it just does not work well with people who are on anti-depressant medication. Also, the mandatory court orders to attend AA meetings has not helped with a lot of people there just not interested in getting sober. Finally, The USA has gone away more secular these days so a lot of people just don’t want to hear about a spiritual solution anymore! There might be a good case for a new additional AA which is based on the old methods of “Christian faith and the 12 steps”.
 
A lot of these problems arise out of Godlessness in society, I suspect.
 
Actually, I think it’s because the ideas seemed intriguing enough.
My grandparents were communists in the 30s. They liked FDR okay, but comminism was this bright shining utopian idea, and they were living hardscrabble lives.
Then they saw what happens when a country actually implements it, and they changed their minds.
 
All we need do is love God with all our being and love our neighbour as ourselves.
 
This article might help answer your question. A Jesuit priest, Fr. Edward Dowling, S.J., had a special influence on Bill Wilson, the founder of A.A.

Library : The Catholic Contribution to the 12-Step Movement

The Catholic Contribution to the 12-Step Movement Robert Aufill explains how Catholicism influenced the 12-Step Program of Alcoholics Anonymous. Wilson, the founder of AA, had a deep attraction to the Catholic faith, and even corresponded with Bishop Fulton Sheen. In the early days of AA, a...
www.catholicculture.org www.catholicculture.org

Another Catholic priest, Fr. Emmerich Vogt, O.P., continues the Catholic connection to the 12 steps today

www.12-step-review.org/
 
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