The following is an excerpt from A.A.’s GSO website. The original page can be found here.
What is A.A.?
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who come together to solve their drinking problem. It doesn’t cost anything to attend A.A. meetings. There are no age or education requirements to participate. Membership is open to anyone who wants to do something about their drinking problem. A.A.’s primary purpose is to help alcoholics to achieve sobriety.
How A.A. works
A.A.’s Twelve Steps are a set of spiritual principles. When practiced as a way of life, they can expel the obsession to drink and enable the sufferer to recover from alcoholism. The Twelve Traditions apply to A.A. as a whole. They outline how A.A. maintains its unity and relates itself to the world around it.
The book Alcoholics Anonymous describes the A.A. program of recovery. It also contains stories written by the co-founders and stories from a wide range of members who have found recovery in A.A.
Religion and Spirituality: Myths About AA
One misconception about AA is that it is a religious program or even a cult. AA has no dogma and no spiritual leaders.
The AA organization is neither affiliated with nor endorses any religious belief or dogma. Members of AA range from staunch atheists to the most ardent religious devotees from every denomination, sect, and culture.
AA does not tell anyone what to believe in. Instead, it is suggested that you develop an open mind.
Spirituality in AA.
A key component of AA’s approach is its emphasis on spirituality. Each individual determines what spirituality personally means, making the program accordingly accessible to people from all walks of life, regardless of their personal belief systems. Spirituality can be as simple as discovering one’s own truth. Meditation is one of the Twelve-Steps, and many who suffer from addiction find it vital to sobriety.
For more information about Alcoholics Anonymous, click here.