Date of Award

Spring 2024

Thesis Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Master of Liberal Studies

Advisor(s)

Dr. Todd French

Abstract

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a fellowship of people who help each other recover from the disease of alcoholism. The AA program is spiritual in nature but insists it is not religious. It encourages each member to discover a relationship with a Higher Power of their understanding and live by spiritual principles to maintain their daily reprieve from alcohol. Research has been conducted on the efficacy of Twelve Step recovery programs and the correlation of one’s religious or spiritual beliefs with long-term sobriety. However, little has been done to explore the spiritual content of the AA program. The purpose of this project is to connect the practices and beliefs endorsed by the AA program with those of asceticism and mysticism. Through a close reading of AA’s primary text and interviews with members, the mystical and ascetic practices of the AA program are made clear. The question of how AA operates like a religion and why it insists it is not religious is explored and a distinction between religion and spirituality is presented. Ultimately it is argued that the program of Alcoholics Anonymous is a mystical and ascetic practice, and that, depending on the definition of religion, AA may be considered religious, but that its categorization as a religion is less important than how it operates and why it consciously distances itself from religion.

Rights Holder

Corinne Cuddeback

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