Legal Law

Is Alcoholics Anonymous a cult?

What comes to mind when you hear the word worship? Jim Jones Kool-Aid? David Koresh? Charles Manson? The Texas polygamous complex? Maybe even Scientology. Do the words Alcoholics Anonymous come to mind? I have certainly never thought of Alcoholics Anonymous as a cult and I am a member. As many people know from my recent blog post, I have been in AA for over a year.

I received many emails and comments in response to that post. Many of those who commented believed that Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a cult. Frankly, I take those comments with a grain of salt. All of them were from former AA members. When you’re at a low point in your life and you have something to help you change that life but that something doesn’t work, what do you do? You don’t look at yourself because you know you can’t change yourself. You blame everyone else. You blame the program. You despise, you denigrate, you destroy. You do anything except take personal responsibility for your failure. I know because I’ve been to that low point. Turning to AA for help to get past that point doesn’t make AA a cult; makes you human.

Let’s start with the premise that AA as a general organization cannot qualify as a cult because it does not have a central authority structure. No one is issuing edicts from above saying you must do this or that to stay in the group. This is because there is no cap. To be a cult, an organization as a whole must have a “superior” in terms of its authority structure.

This leaves us with the question of whether AA’s philosophy encourages “cult behavior” in its thousands of chapters. Perhaps the personality makeup of the specific chapter can make the group function like a cult. I believe, however, that it is the very rare exception and not the rule.

The other day someone who read my blog sent me an article about an AA chapter in Washington DC that was accused of being a cult. Members of this AA chapter basically encouraged younger women to have sexual relationships with older male members and encouraged members in general to sever all ties with anyone who was not a member of this AA chapter. Does that ring the “cult bell” in your head? It certainly does on mine. You can read that article here.

Yes, I agree that this particular chapter probably qualifies as a cult, but to say that the actions of an isolated group within a larger organization classifies that larger group as a cult is ridiculous. When these allegations became public, this group, in effect, disbanded as an AA-sanctioned group.

What else would classify AA as a cult? The greatest book on this subject is AA: Cult or Cure by Charles Bufe, who outlines a litany of conditions that qualify AA as a cult. I’m not going to debate your criteria. Why? Words are like statistics: you form your opinion, then match it to the point you want to get across…Frankly, I could take Bufe’s points and make a good case that the Boy Scouts of America is a cult.

Any time there are people who come together in a group of any kind, you will have formal and informal criteria for membership, even at the lowest level. You will have a common purpose. You’re going to have strong personalities and weak personalities. You will have strong personalities that will overwhelm and dominate weaker personalities. You are going to have weaker personalities that have to adopt the essence of the stronger ones to stand out in the group. Does that happen in AA? Sure it does. Does that happen in the Boy Scouts? Sure it does. Did that happen in my law school study group? your bet. That happened in my weekly poker game. These attributes do not transform each of the aforementioned organizations into a sect. They are simply the attributes of group dynamics.

These personality problems can be much more pronounced in self-help groups like AA. No one walks into an AA meeting because they are at a high point in their life. They are defeated, they are weak, they have lost their sense of self, their self-esteem, their family, their independent life, etc. They are open to almost any and all suggestions that will set them on a new path of self-respect and sobriety. This certainly lends itself to the danger of domination by strong personalities with amoral motives in the group without checks and balances. AA groups have checks and balances. These checks and balances are the members themselves who are different, diverse and compassionate, who care for each other and do not try to reform each other.

So is AA a cult? I don’t think so, but since each person has to make it work for them as an individual, I can see how some people who fail at that would take comfort in seeing it that way. Of course, those who think it’s a cult would argue that I’m a “cult member” and that cult members never think they’re in a cult. I haven’t read Catch-22 in many years, but it looks like I’m certainly not going to fly that next mission so I can get out of the military.

I can also see how people with personalities that are simply not compatible with a core philosophy would not be successful in AA and would see it as a cult. Are there any groups out there that don’t have a core philosophy? These people, however, are likely to struggle in any group setting where conformance to certain standards is an element in achieving a common goal. Is there a group where a certain level of conformity is not needed to achieve a common goal?

AA offers a compliance program, but AA is not about compliance. AA is not about submission to others in the group. I won’t argue that AA is about submitting to the fact that you have a problem and want help. Seeking help from people who have experienced similar circumstances, but remaining free to choose and make their own decisions, indicates that the person is exercising their own free will. Cults do not allow free will to exist because some form of mind control is practiced to create the cult. I sought help from an organized group when I studied for the Texas Bar Exam. Is the legal profession a cult? I know some who would say yes, but the truth is that we seek comfort and strength in groups of people who have similar experiences, problems, or goals.

AA is not about rejecting those who do not conform or submit. AA is about people who want to stop drinking and helping other people who want to stop drinking.

If that’s a cult, pass me the Kool Aid.

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