Is Debtors Anonymous a religious recruitment scheme?

[debtor]

So, I have been looking for a support group to help me with my debt and I was referred to debtors anonymous as a good place. It sounded great until I read their 12 step program and there was more about God than there was about debt. Here are their steps:

12 Steps of Debtors Anonymous

1. We admitted we were powerless over debt--that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

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.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive debtors, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

It sounds like more of a religious recruitment than helping with debt. it probably doesn't help that I'm not very religious so this seems to stand out even more. Has anyone ever been through this program? Would it be beneficial even for those that aren't religious?

[ua_guy]

It's the same idea behind the 12-step recovery program for Alcoholics Anonymous. It requires belief in / acceptance of God. That right there prevents me from ever becoming an alcoholic. If I was an alcoholic, apparently I'd have to go to meetings and believe in God. No thanks!

I wasn't aware that being in debt was a physical dependence like alcoholism. Me thinks there are plenty of good books out there and forums like this out there to get you on the right track to financial health without requiring you to adhere to a religious belief.

[MonkeyMama]

In my opinion, yes. Religious recruitment. Same difference as AA. (Addiction comes in many forms).

[AsiaTraveler]

My opinion, based on what I know of the founding of AA (which is the basis for all other "anonymous" groups), is this:

Is it religious? Yes. You do have to acknowledge a 'higher power.'

Is it specifically religious? No. Your higher power could be The Force from Star Wars for all they care.

Is it recruitment? No. When the founders of AA found something that worked for them, it was grounded in Christianity. They were faced with the choice of keeping it specifically Christian or making it as open as possible. They chose to give it to the world, so to speak...but because of the nature of the way that it came about, it was impossible for them to remove any kind of religious references. So, no one is out to get you to 'convert' to their religion or whatever.

That being said, based on your feelings about it, it probably isn't the group for you.

[Mjenn]

This is one of those reasons many hate 12 step programs. Having seen loved ones use them very positively (and still remain atheist) I think the God part (or higher power as you define it) is more a way to conceptualize and grapple with the disease, rather than a religious recruitment. None of my friends in recovery have 'found' religion through 12 steps, although some people seem to think the groups are cult like.

That said, I don't get the debt part. I see overconsumption/shopping as a possible addictive type behavior, but not debt. Most people don't set out to get a ton of debt, they want stuff, and for many that means they get both stuff and debt.

[bjl584]

It could be. But, if it gets you out of debt then there's probably no harm. Absorb the parts about debt reduction and block out the rest. Or, seek out debt counseling that doesn't have a religious undertone if you think that this program isn't for you.

[Wino]

The basis for the "higher power" part of the program is not religious, although religion gives the most well-known form of higher power that many therefore equate with "the supreme being" (by whatever name your particular religion gives to it).

The reason is that addiction is a very selfish trait. You become a slave to your addiction, until it is all that matters to you. Be it debt, gambling, alcohol, drugs, or fishing, the addiction becomes the focal point of your existence. The point is that nothing matters to you more than the addictive behavior. You don't care about your family, your job, your possessions. Fulfilling the addiction becomes your sole defining characteristic.

How do you remove that focus? You need something larger than you and your addiction. Whatever you choose as your higher power - be it religious or not - becomes the source for your strength to beat down your addiction and to allow you to stop the behavior that you manifest in carrying out your addiction. Basically, it says, "You aren't the center of the universe," so you have to start to care about something other than you or your addiction.

[ua_guy]

The basis for the "higher power" part of the program is not religious, although religion gives the most well-known form of higher power that many therefore equate with "the supreme being" (by whatever name your particular religion gives to it).

The reason is that addiction is a very selfish trait. You become a slave to your addiction, until it is all that matters to you. Be it debt, gambling, alcohol, drugs, or fishing, the addiction becomes the focal point of your existence. The point is that nothing matters to you more than the addictive behavior. You don't care about your family, your job, your possessions. Fulfilling the addiction becomes your sole defining characteristic.

How do you remove that focus? You need something larger than you and your addiction. Whatever you choose as your higher power - be it religious or not - becomes the source for your strength to beat down your addiction and to allow you to stop the behavior that you manifest in carrying out your addiction. Basically, it says, "You aren't the center of the universe," so you have to start to care about something other than you or your addiction.

I understand the concept of what you are saying, but no, participation in Judeo-Christian tradition is unquestionably being required in the steps outlined above. The concept is meaningless for those who are athiest or those who do not even believe in spirituality in a generic sense.

[shaggy]

I think you should take the opinions of anyone without direct experience of 12 Step groups with a grain of salt.


Card carrying atheist here, been working the 12 steps for over 11 years and no one has tried to make me a Christian yet.