Appendix II – Histories of ten agnostic groups in Canada
A Broad Highway By Gord A Nelson, British Columbia Two long time members of AA in the vicinity of Nelson, BC were Shirley R and Gord A, and they had discussed the need for...
Category: A History of Agnostics in AA
Chapters from the book “A History of Agnostics in AA” written by Roger C. and published by AA Agnostica.
Appendix I – Secular Versions of “How It Works”
“How It Works” is Chapter 5 of the Big Book. The beginning of it (from pages 58 to 60 in the Fourth Edition) is often read at the beginning of traditional AA meetings. This...
Conclusion: Who We Are
One of the favorite quotes I came across in early recovery was the following: “It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks...
Chapter 16: A Growing Secular Movement
Riding the Tide We are a rapidly growing and evolving secular movement within Alcoholics Anonymous. Our “godfather”, if you will, was Jim Burwell, back in the 1930s. That’s where we all – I trust...
Chapter 15: Austin Convention
by life-j I missed out on the Santa Monica Convention, and I almost didn’t make this one either, but the tooth fairy came through at the last moment. And now I’m really stoked. I...
Chapter 14: Progress not Perfection
There were, however, controversies that emerged in the preparation of the Santa Monica, and the next, Austin, convention. For the first secular AA convention, the problem was sometimes trying too hard to be acceptable...
Chapter 13: Santa Monica Convention
Word about a plan to hold a first international convention for agnostics, atheists and freethinkers in AA began to circulate in early April 2013. The plan had originated with two alcoholic women, Dorothy H...
Chapter 12: Literature for We Agnostics
A few years ago, there was almost nothing for secular alcoholics in AA to read. In fact, before 2010 only a few such books had been published, and one of them had been out...
Chapter 11: Conference-approved Literature
More than forty years ago, Ed and Paula, two members of an AA trustees Literature Sub-Committee, wrote that a pamphlet written by and for agnostics and atheists in AA was “needed to assure non-believers...
Chapter 10: Conformity and Conventional AA
Conventional AA meetings can be both religious and conformist. Religiosity: There can be a lot of God on placards and in readings and in Conference-approved pamphlets and books on literature tables. And meetings can...
Chapter 9: Back to Basics and Other Religionists
By life-j Introduction In a history of secular AA we need to talk about groups and individuals whose purposes are at odds with ours. Some of them are actively fighting inclusion of non-believers as...
Chapter 8: Accepting Special Composition Groups
Since the very beginning, there have been special composition groups in Alcoholics Anonymous. And their acceptance, sadly, has always posed a problem. “‘Special’ groups have always been viewed with suspicion, alarm and sometimes outright...
Chapter 7: Agnostics and Human Rights
Let’s begin by looking at some dates of historical significance. May 31, 2011. Two agnostic AA groups, Beyond Belief and We Agnostics, are voted out of the Greater Toronto Area Intergroup (GTAI) and off...
Chapter 6: Changing the 12 Steps
As time passes our book literature has a tendency to get more and more frozen – a tendency for conversion into something like dogma. This is a trait of human nature which I am...
