And you have a problem with convicted criminals being ordered to attend programs that address their abuse of alcohol and/or narcotics and their consequences?
Do you have a better idea how to deal with these people?
Maybe the use of the G-word is too harsh for their tender sensibilities.
There;s the tender sensibilities of the US Constitution, specifically the First Amendment.
The thread title is definitely misleading. I had to read your post several times to find the 'religion'. "Swapping booze for Jesus" is extremely offensive. I know AA. I know several atheists who have successfully used the program. I'm not saying that there aren't possibly better programs out there (I don't know - who am I to say?) but I do know that it's incorrect to label AA as a religious program. Higher Power is anything you want it to be - the best in yourself, the goodness of the world, whatever.
And yes, he is a jerk. The problem I see with court-required AA participation is that unless you're genuinely motivated, you can't really complete the steps. You have to be honest and thorough. If someone else made you go, you'd have to get past that.
Step 11: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
So what's with all this praying? Does one pray to Nature, or to Batman?
Then don't ever take a drink or use any drugs, and you won't have to be offended by acknowledging a power greater than yourself.
Religion and spirituality make me suspicious and ornery, so I may be coming off a bit strong.
I'm fine with anyone who VOLUNTARILY chooses to go into AA. And while prisoners forfeit their freedoms as punishment for their crimes, its...kind of against my personal wiggywoo to force religion on them. It just smacks of brainwashing.
If they want to go to AA, fine. If they opt into a different program, fine. If they refuse to go into both, make em chose between going into a program (either one) or not get paroled.
Actually, the person's responsibility is to change his own behavior, whether using some group or not. It's arguable that the Government has no responsibility to even give a list of what groups are available.
My cat is often the higher power in our house. A new baby - no question. The weather is definitely a higher power. If chemicals have power over my brain than they're definitely a higher power.
Unless you are THE HIGHEST POWER then of course there are higher powers than you.
Absolute goodness is a higher power than I am. Infinity is a higher power. The bank who has my mortgage is a higher power. Hope is a higher power. When I think about it, I'm quite down the lower end of many continua of power. I find it really odd to associate the idea with religion.
Of course it's your right to think that, but in my opinion, such a connotation is very limited, outdated and narrow.
Hey, I'm just quoting what the steps say, to pray to God-with-a-big-G.
AA doesn't say your higher power has to be mystical or supernatural.
PRAYING to God isn't calling on the mystical or supernatural?
Um, actually I just looked up the definition of 'higher power' at the AA website. In their pdf at
http://www.aa.org/lang/en/catalog.cfm?origpage=198&product=4 they say you have to believe in a power 'higher than yourself'. On another page they say "this is purely a matter of interpretation." I would argue that this is not mystical or supernatural at all.
BUT later in the brochure when it actually sets out the steps, three of the steps contain the word, "God" although in Step three it says, "as we understand him". So I guess that is rather religious! The thing is, everyone I know who's worked through the steps, sticks with the 'higher power' language which is very flexible and NOT limited to mystical or supernatural.
But the steps do use the word "God".
They tell newcomers at meetings that "anything" can be one's higher power. The classic absurd example is a doorknob. After some time in the program one is expected to have a full-fledged Spiritual Higher Power.
I should look up the quotes from the 12&12 on this. In the third step it says one can use the AA gorup as a higher power (in AA GOD is often deacronymized as Group Of Drunks), but circa step 11 it says that's not enough, one has to eventually have a spiritual Higher Power. It's bait-and-switch.
Has this changed? If not, then it goes against AA's primary purpose and craps on the only requirement that they ask of you.
But AA has a lot of "suggestions" about things such as "getting on your knees" (even if you're Jewish)...
If AA wants to be truly independent and stop being an agent of the Government, they could stop signing court-ordered attendance slips. But most members are there because so many others, including doctors, treatment center counselors and judges (the ones who have the REAL Power to make people go) told them to go to AA.
