AA does not embrace any particular faith nor asks for an endorsement from any church or organization.
what has been offensive is that I have been chastised for bringing up Christ in meetings, that I am “disrespecting” the meeting by bringing my religion into my understanding of a higher power
That’s just because AA is for EVERYONE including atheists, Buddhists, Muslims, etc. who don’t necessarily call “their” Higher Power God or Christ. That’s why it’s a spiritual and not a religious program. If it was religious it would exclude a lot of people.
Officially, there is no conflict between AA and the Catholic Church. When the Big Book was being written, draft copies were sent out for review. There was at least one change made to satisfy Catholics - “Heaven on Earth” was changed to “Utopia.” It also plainly states on page 74
I agree with this. I too returned to the Catholic Church after entering AA. I did my Step 5 with my sponsor and my Priest(seperately).It actually brought me back to Catholicism. In the literature t talks about those who had once belonged to a particular religion many times return to it. It also mentions that those who need to do their 5th step would be wise to do it with a priest.
My alcoholism totally separated me from God and once He was back in my life and I started praying and meditating on a daily basis, the call back to the Catholic faith was strong.
Religion is not discussed in meetings. God is, sure. Not religion. AA is all inclusive. It does not discriminate. Many who come to AA believe in NOTHING and eventually see the difficulty of staying sober by one’s willpower and do come to believe in God (or Higher Power, if you will). Some of the stories I hear are pretty incredible.
For me, my faith has only enhanced my sobriety and although AA is a big part of my life (fellowship, helping new people, sharing my recovery story), so is the Church. By the way, I don’t know if it’s my geographic location, but there are many Catholics in the groups I go to, and practicing ones at that as I see them at Mass, Adoration, etc.
It’s really not for me to judge another’s conception of God. As long as they know they ain’t Him, that’s a beginning. God takes care of the rest, huh? He certainly did in my life.
I place my trust in the Lord and all is well.
I bought a book from 12-step review org called Father Fred and the twelve steps. It’s a fab book about a priest Father Fred who was an alcoholic who was in AA and he tells of his story of doing the 12-steps. I found it very helpful and enlightening.
Then find another group this is not proper as everyone may have a different higher power and none should be criticized. Such behavior is not in keeping with the AA movement. Sounds like some people may be putting personality before recovery. Don’t let the actions of a few keep you off track to your own sobriety though and keep going even if with the same group.
No, the OP was violating the principles by making his Higher Power specific to Jesus Christ. You can use the term God because it is more generic, as long as you don’t specifically start discussing religious practices during the meeting. It’s usually stated, “My Higher Power whom I choose to call God.” But not everyone does that, some just say “Higher Power.”
Yes it does. Bill W sent a copy of the big book
The extent of this varies depending on where you are, but in general there does seem to be a double standard. No one seems uncomfortable with Pagan nonsense, you see some people squirming a bit at the name of Jesus, and the only thing I’ve heard openly bashed is the Catholic Church.
Nonsense, they were absolutely in the wrong to do that; if I had been there I’d have spoken up quite vigorously in his defense, doubled down on the Jesus talk, and thrown in something about how awesome Eucharistic Adoration is.
Not as long as the Higher Power is God!
