Is Alcoholics Anonymous a Cult? 🤐

Is Alcoholics Anonymous really a cult? What about Narcotics Anonymouses, or any of the Anonymouses for that matter? You've probably heard that before, right? That AA is a cult. Well, in this video we're going to take an objective look and find out what are the qualities of AA that are maybe like a cult or maybe not like a cult. And if alcoholics isn't a cult, then what the heck is it? For those of you who are new here, welcome to Put the shovel down. This YouTube channel is all about helping you understand the science and psychology so you can get back to living the life that you want to live. And this is the only channel that looks at addiction from every single angle. Alright, back to our topic. So I think the best way to tackle this question is to look at what are the qualities of a cult? And does AA have any of those qualities? Okay, spoiler alert. It definitely has some of those qualities. So there's a reason why people say that. Let's look at what they are. And definitely feel free to weigh in with your opinion as we go through these. The first quality of a cult is having an unquestionable commitment to a leader. Now, those of you who are familiar with Alcoholics Anonymous know that it was started by someone named Bill Wilson, and eventually he brought along a friend named Dr. Bob. If you had to say someone was the leader of Alcoholics Anonymous, it would be Bill and Bob for sure. But neither one of them are living anymore. So I'm not real sure if you can have sort of this undying allegiance to the leader if the leader's not really alive anymore. Outside of that, Alcoholics Anonymous is ran completely by volunteers. There is no one leader. Now, I will say that there is a commitment to the ideas that Bill and Bob brought to the organization. I would definitely say that's true. But this undying loyalty like you think of to a cult like David Koresh or someone like that, you just don't really see that in aa. Now, the second quality that cults have is that any type of questioning or doubt is strongly discouraged. In fact, it's usually punished. So if you're questioning the ideas of this leader or you have thoughts that are contrary to what the big group believes, in a cult, you are likely to be punished. And if that doesn't work and those questions and disbeliefs continue, then in many cults you get sort of like excommunicated. As in you're outside of the group and no one inside of the group is allowed to have contact with you anymore. Now, I definitely Admit that AA has some really strong beliefs about things. And yeah, they believe what they believe. And okay, I've met a few old timers in AA that can be pretty inflexible about things. But in general, you don't see this hardcore, it's our or the highway type of thinking. Now the third quality that cults have is that there is excessive practice of mind altering activities like meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, stuff like that. Sometimes they even have their members engage in working type sessions that last for so long, they deprive you of sleep and food to the point that it can become debilitating. This is a way of breaking down your thinking, which makes you more vulnerable to believing the things that the cult leader wants you to believe. Now, in aa, they do have kind of like a way of saying and doing things, and sometimes they say things in unison, which can seem like chanting. But I would probably call that more like tradition or ritual, which we're going to get to in just a second. The next quality of a cult is that the leader dictates what the members do, how they think, how they should feel, things like who they should marry or where they should work. And I gotta say on this one, I don't really think Alcoholics Anonymous meets that criteria. The next quality of a cult is that the group has kind of like this elitist mentality, like we are the only ones who know the truth. And if you're not part of the truth, you're not part of this enlightened group. In fact, most cult members this special exalted status which makes them somehow better than the rest of the world. And I guess maybe there's like a tad bit of this in Alcoholics Anonymous. Like, for example, people that have worked the 12 steps and have found sobriety and recovery, they do kind of feel like, hey, like, dude, we have the answer. This is the solution. If you're not following this solution, then you're probably not going to find recovery. There is a little bit of that attitude about the recovery process. I don't think though that it really applies to like, oh, we're special human beings and we're generally better than other human beings. But I do think they feel like they found the answer to alcoholism and in some cases they have. The next quality of a cult is that it usually has very polarizing beliefs, as in like us versus them. Like you're either on this side of the fence or you're on that side of the fence. I'll say that AA does have a little bit of this kind of thinking like, either you're an alcoholic or you're a normie, and there's not a lot of in between, Even to the point of a lot of people in Alcoholics Anonymous are like, oh, you're just a heavy drinker. You're not a real alcoholic. Like, you're not over here with us. You're over there with them. So I think there is maybe like a little bit of that. The next quality of a cult is that the leader is not held accountable to any kind of authority figure, like the military or police or priests or other religious figures. In a cult, the leader feels like they are above all that they have no one to answer to. I don't think Alcoholics Anonymous meets this criteria. What do you think? Speaking of that? One of the other things that you see in cults is this thinking that the ends justify the means. As in, we're this group of people. We have this special mission and purpose that has to be accomplished no matter what. And even if we have to do, like, really bad, despicable things in order to accomplish it, it's what we have to do. So, for example, a lot of cults have the members lie to other people in their life or take money or ask for money under false pretenses or cut people out of their life. But there's this thinking involved in a cult that this is the sacrifices that you have to make, and this is what has to be done. Another quality of cults is the leadership uses peer pressure to make people feel guilty and shameful. Now, when it comes to the end, justify the means, I don't really think AA teaches this. In fact, I think that AA really goes against this. Most of Alcoholics Anonymous teachings is about how to be a better person and interact with other human beings in a more integrity type way. So I don't really think they meet this one. Another quality is that the leadership uses peer pressure to induce shame and guilt. I don't really think Alcoholics Anonymous does this on purpose, But I do think when people relapse or they fall out or they stop going to meetings, they do feel kind of guilty about it, But I don't really know that it's purposeful, strategic, designed like people like doing that, making them feel that way to manipulate the situation. Another big quality of cults is that subservience to the group requires that you cut ties with everyone in your outside life. Cults don't want any other influence because they're really trying to control the mind and thinking of the person in the group. An Alcoholics Anonymous doesn't really have that at all. Like, for example, a lot of members of Alcoholics Anonymous also go to counseling or treatment or belong to other churches. And there's really just no issue with that. Cults also have a preoccupation with bringing in members and money. Now I will say that Alcoholics Anonymous does say that the most important person in the room is the newcomer, but they don't really go out in the community and try to drag people in. In fact, AA really focuses on attraction and not promotion, meaning that the thinking is, is that just being a sober person in recovery, whose life is better in and of itself is being a role model that will attract other people to the group. You don't have to go out there and pressure people or promote it. And I definitely don't think money is the overarching goal of Alcoholics Anonymous. Like, usually in a lot of meetings they'll pass the plate around. You can put a dollar or so in, but I don't think anyone's getting rich off of it. Members of a cult are expected to put in like an exorbitant amount of time and energy into group activities to the exclusion of other things in their life. And yeah, I would say Alcoholics Anonymous wants people to participate and they encourage that, but it's not like some kind of require. If you want to go once a month, go once a month. If you want to go three times a day, go three times a day. There's also a requirement in cults to live and or socialize only with other members. Again, it has to do with this outside influence. And with cults, they don't want you to socialize with anybody outside because they don't want you to have any kind of independent thinking. Again, I really don't think this is the case with Alcoholics Anonymous. I will say if you're a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, there is a little bit of a fear that if you stop going to meetings that you will relapse. So I guess there's a little tinge of this. But it's not like you see in big cults. Like, it's like if I don't go to meetings, they're not going to talk to me anymore. I'm going to get in trouble, they're going to tell my secrets, you know, they're going to take my livelihood, that kind of thing. You don't find that kind of fear based manipulation inside of Alcoholics Anonymous. So after hearing all that, what do you think? Is Alcoholics Anonymous a cult? Or not a cult. In my mind, the biggest factor that makes Alcoholics Anonymous not a cult is the fact that you can come and go as you want. There's no pressure or threatening, that if you leave, you can leave, you can come back as many times as you want. In fact, the saying is, keep coming back. It works if you work it. Now, if you don't think Alcoholics Anonymous is a cult, maybe you think it's a religion. So, up next, I want you to check out the video about Is Alcoholics Anonymous really a religious group? I'll put the video right up here so all you have to do is click on it.