A man who wants to stop drinking brings his faith with him. He wants to know if AA will ask him to set that faith aside. He puts the question in plain words: is AA religious? His wife or his mother may ask it too, because she wants him well and she wants his faith to stay whole.
AA answers that question on its own website, and the answer leaves room for a man’s faith. A man who has tried to quit on his own deserves a straight answer, and so does the family that has watched him try.
At SOZO Recovery Center, we picture that man back at his family’s table and back at work, with his faith as part of his daily life. Our admissions team can help him start treatment that builds on that faith.
Is AA religious? What AA says about itself
Is AA religious? By its own account, no. In the list of common questions on its website, AA says it is not a religious organization and is not allied with any religious organization.
AA makes the same point when it describes its members. It says they are not allied with any group or religious denomination. A man from any church can join a meeting, because AA ties itself to no denomination.
If you love a man who wants to stop drinking, AA’s answer can settle one worry early. You can show him AA’s own words and tell him he can keep his faith. Then call us, and we will explain how faith and the 12 steps fit into treatment at SOZO.
What spiritual principles mean for a man of faith
A man who asks is AA religious often has the word spiritual in mind. On its page about what AA is, AA calls its 12 steps “a set of spiritual principles.” That page is worth a read if you want AA’s own words on the steps.
A principle is an idea a man chooses to live by each day. For a man who prays, his own faith can shape how he lives out those principles.
A Christian man does not have to trade his faith for a seat at a meeting. He can bring his Bible and his prayers into the work of the steps, and his church stays his church.
A man unsure of his beliefs can bring his questions to AA, because AA opens membership to anyone who wants to do something about a drinking problem. He can keep working on those questions with his sponsor and his group.
If you are the man asking, you can bring the faith you hold today to an AA meeting. If you are asking for him, you can read AA’s page together. Either way, we can tell you how our program treats faith as part of recovery.
Faith can give a man a reason to keep showing up on the hard days. AA gives him peers who show up beside him, and treatment at SOZO puts his faith and the 12 steps into one plan. If you want to read the steps beside scripture, start with our guide to the 12 steps and the Bible.
Where Christian faith fits beside the 12 steps
Our program joins Christian principles with the 12-step method that AA uses. A man works the steps here beside other men in recovery, and Christian faith shapes that work.
Prayer and scripture are part of our program. Our staff also offers spiritual guidance, and a man can bring his hardest questions about God into those talks.
We serve men of faith, and we also serve men who are open to a faith-based approach. The man who arrives sure of his faith and the man who arrives with doubts get the same welcome. Each of them gets clinical care and the 12 steps, and faith stays part of the work for both.
For a family, one program can care for a man’s faith and his health at once. You do not have to choose between a church answer and a clinical answer, because our program brings both into one plan. Our care also helps a man rebuild his family relationships on Christian principles, and it includes support for his return to work. Our guide to a Christian 12-step program explains more about this approach.
Why AA and treatment work together
AA and treatment do different jobs, and a man in early recovery can use both. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) describes mutual help groups such as AA as groups led by peers. No healthcare professional leads them, and for that reason NIDA says these groups are not the same as treatment.
NIDA also says many people find these groups useful in addition to professional care. It describes a behavioral therapy called 12-Step Facilitation, and that therapy encourages a person to take part in 12-step groups. That therapy is one way clinical care and 12-step groups work side by side.
Treatment gives a man a clinical team, and AA gives him a fellowship of peers who share his goal. In a meeting, he finds other people in recovery, and no one in the room writes a treatment plan for him. In treatment, a clinical team builds that plan with him.
We see AA as the fellowship a man keeps beside treatment. Before he finishes residential care, we help him build a plan for life after he leaves, and that plan can include outpatient treatment and a 12-step group. When he is ready to choose a sponsor, our guide on how to find an AA sponsor can help him start that search.
Some men also live with a mental health condition alongside the addiction. At SOZO, we treat co-occurring disorders at the same time as the addiction, and we build evidence-based clinical practice into the same plan as a man’s faith. CARF International accredits our program, and the state of Arkansas licenses it.
How a man starts treatment at SOZO
Treatment at SOZO starts with one phone call. Our Arkansas admissions team listens on the first call, and we find the right level of care for the man you love.
You can make that call for yourself, or you can make it for a husband or a son. You do not need every answer before you call, because we are there to answer your questions. If he is not ready to talk yet, you can still call us, and we can help you plan his first step.
We explain each level of care in plain words. You can start with any of these questions:
- How do faith and the 12 steps fit into his treatment?
- Which level of care fits him best?
- What does the first week look like for him?
- How can our family support him while he is in treatment?
For some men, the right level of care is our residential program, where a man lives on our campus in Jessieville and gives his full attention to recovery. The campus is quiet, and it puts distance between a man and the places where he drank. For other men, it is our intensive outpatient program. There he sleeps in his own bed and answers to his own alarm clock, and he keeps up with work and family while he comes to treatment.
Residential care suits a man who needs a structured place to live while he focuses on recovery. Intensive outpatient suits a man who needs focused treatment and can keep living at home. In both programs, a man takes part in individual and group therapy. Both programs build faith and the 12 steps into the work, and both give him clinical care.
If a man needs detox before treatment, we help him plan that first stage. We coordinate detox placement with partner facilities. On the first call, the admissions team checks your family’s coverage and explains what comes next.
Questions men ask about AA and faith
Is AA Christian?
AA does not call itself Christian, and it says it is not allied with any religious denomination. A Christian man can still bring his faith into every step he works. If you want the 12 steps and Christian faith in one plan, we can tell you how our program brings them together.
Does AA believe in Jesus?
As a fellowship, AA says it is not a religious organization and is not allied with any religious denomination. AA opens membership to anyone who wants to do something about a drinking problem, so a man does not need a set belief about Jesus to join. At SOZO, a man can work the 12 steps with his faith in Christ at the center, and we can explain how when you call 501-984-5317.
Do I have to be religious to go to AA?
No. AA opens membership to anyone who wants to do something about a drinking problem, and you can come with strong faith or with honest questions about God. AA gives you peers in recovery, and treatment at SOZO adds a clinical team and a plan built with you. If you want treatment that welcomes your questions about faith, call our admissions team.
Can a man of faith work the 12 steps at SOZO?
Yes, because our program joins Christian principles with the 12-step method that Alcoholics Anonymous uses. Prayer and scripture are part of that work, and our staff offers spiritual guidance too. You can read more about our 12-step recovery for men before you call us.
Talk with our admissions team
Call our admissions team at 501-984-5317 for yourself or for the man you love. Bring your questions about faith, and bring his questions too. You can also reach us through our admissions page.
If you or the man you love is in danger right now, call 911.
Our main office is at 505 W Grand Ave, Hot Springs, AR 71901. We want the chair at his family’s table to be his again, and we want his faith to grow along with his sobriety.