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Burnett Honors College, Office of Research and Civic Engagement University of Central Florida

Hidden in Plain Sight:

Study of the Spiritual But Not Religious Phenomenon as Found Within Members of Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous

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Christopher Bates

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February 20, 2013

Hidden in Plain Sight:

Study of the Spiritual But Not Religious Phenomenon as Found Within Members of Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous
Accepted by the Burnett Honors College for the Summer 2013 Research Grant by Christopher Bates and with the sponsorship of Dr. Gay, Sociology Department, UCF

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Project Description A targeted study of 10-15 stable, active members of local twelve-step recovery groups who selflabel as Spiritual But Not Religious, carried out through a series of open-ended interviews, utilizing a targeted interview schedule with the goal of researching how such individuals understand the concept of "spirituality:" their own spirituality, the spirituality of others within their reference group, and the spirituality of the population at large with particular emphasis the practice of implicit, oppositional religiosity. Prepared with the goal of publication in the UCF Undergraduate Research Journal.

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Research Survey, Scholarship Review, and Background Shifting Ground There is a paradigm shift currently underway in the academic study of religion, a change intensely felt by those working within the sub-field of sociology that seeks to understand religion. This sea-change in perspective began when religious sociologists attempted to apply

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long-accepted theories to events occurring within the American religious landscape and could not. Wendy Cadge, Peggy Levitt and David Smilde interviewed a large number of religious sociologists in their article "De-Centering and Re-Centering: Rethinking Concepts and Methods in the Sociological Study of Religion," and begin the landmark paper with the following few lines: It is fair to say that the sociology of religion is going through a period of selfreflection [and] many scholars are questioning the basic state of the field. Riesebrodt (2008:25) claims the sociology of religion is in crisis as scholars work with diverse concepts of religion that are basically incompatible with each other and with our theories and that fail to explain world events. Smith (2008:1563) describes the field as in an ill-defined transition stage in which many scholars are moving beyond some of the fields burning concerns of recent years but have not yet clearly redefined the major issues, challenges and goals for the future. (Cadge et al; 2010) What is the catalyst for this "period of self-reflection?" The transition stage that "De-Centering and Re-Centering" is concerned with has been caused by the American decline in affiliation with organized denominational religion and concurrent, well-documented, and steadily increasing growth in new forms of religious behavior. The academic study of religion has not been well positioned for this change. The emergence of new forms of religious behavior (the quest for spirituality), pursued by a new category of religious American (the religious seeker), was at first considered a passing fad. The quest for spirituality was not taken seriously, and until the last decade, the working hypothesis

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among sociologists has been that a secularization process is well-underway within western society and steadily gaining momentum. P.L. Berger writes in his book The Desecularization of the World: A Global Overview, that the spirituality fad is here to stay. Unexpectedly, it is the secularization theory that is the "fad:" The assumption that we live in a secularized world is false. The world today is as furiously religious as it ever was, and in some places more so than ever. This means that a whole body of literature by historians and social scientists is essentially mistaken (Berger; 1999 - italics added). As Berger explains it, the secularization hypothesis believes that the Baby Boom cohort did not engage in behaviors that led to religious beliefs and behaviors being well-transferred intergenerationally, inevitably leading to a dearth of denominational affiliation. In "The Spiritual Turn and the Decline of Tradition: The Spread of Post-Christian Spirituality in 14 Western Countries, 1981 200, Dick Houtman and Stef Aupers explain the non-transference concept as being one which believes: that a post-Christian worldview, insofar as it is religious at all, is only religious in a vague spiritual sense. The secularization hypothesis, according to the authors, forecasts that: "the transmission of diffuse beliefs is unnecessary and impossible. ...[N]o such thing as socialization into post-Christian spirituality exists....[post Christian spirituality will] die out, inevitably" (Houtman and Aupers; 2007). In short, sociologists have believed that the Baby Boom cohort is exiting the organized church en-mass and consequently, their children are not being socialized to be interested in religion at all.

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The religious seeker throws a wrench in an otherwise well-tuned theoretical machine (Roof; 1993, Mercadante;2012). The confidant theories of the 1980s that were believed to account for the dismantling of church affiliation had no answer when asked to explain the growing segment of the population that desires religious experience but is simultaneously disinterested in religious dogma. God, by the Numbers This soon led to a dawning realization within the field of sociology that while traditional religious forms were declining, new religious interest was emerging in other arenas. With the release of each new Gallup poll, the numbers spoke clearly: something interesting was happening. Religion, as classically understood, has indeed become less and less appealing to many Americans. On this question, Frank Newport, author of God is Alive and Well, reports that: [There is a growing] percentage of Americans who say religion is not very important in their daily lives -- from a range of 11% to 14% through most of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s to 19% over the past two years....Americans have become increasingly less tied to formal religion in recent decades, with the percentage saying they do not have a specific religious identity growing from near zero in the 1950s to 16% this year and last. (Newport; 2012) The continuing drop in denominational rolls and an increase in the nonaffiliated - the celebrated "nones" of survey literature - caused consternation among religious leaders and scholars alike. Americans know less about the religions they claim to follow than at any other time in the past (Hemingway; 2011), neither are they as committed to lifelong affiliation as previous generations.

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As membership and affiliation with classically delineated religious groups declines, religious sociologists have become slowly aware that the methods of studying religious expression must also change or risk becoming irrelevant. However, something decidedly new is replacing those classically understood religious beliefs and behaviors. Wade Clark Roof, in his address to a group of religious sociologists remarked on this evolution: On the one hand, the religious climate seems to have trended downward and institutional loyalties have stagnated; yet on the other hand, there are signs of spiritual quest and experiential ferment in many sectors of American life. What are we to make of such opposing indicators? (Roof;1996) The New Normal The main growth group identified in religious affiliation surveys - the group that Roof challenges sociologists of religion to adjust their research methods to accommodate - are those who identify themselves as Spiritual But Not Religious (SBNR). To date, the main research that religious sociologists have done on the SBNR group has been confined to a series of papers analyzing quantitative studies such as those preformed by the Gallup Poll on Religion. While such research gives valuable information on trends of personal identification, it provides little more than data points on a timeline and tells a simple tale: there are more SBNRs than there used to be and less of almost everybody else. Americans are seeing denominational affiliation as less and less a question of identity (I am a Southern Baptist, I am a Greek Orthodox). It is important to note that this does not necessarily mean that Americans are less religious. Interest in following a spiritual lifestyle and

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individual-oriented, experiential faith is growing rapidly. In answer to how the social scientist might react to these quickly shifting religious pathways, rethink groups traditionally studied, and reengineer methods sociologists have traditionally used, Roof challenges the religious social scientists to engage with the evolving nature of American faith, claiming that: [T]oday's religious landscape [is]... baffling and bewildering. They are perplexing, partly because of the trends themselves Sociology of religion as a discipline must find ways to critique itself as a child of the Enlightenment, move beyond the strict confines of its rationalist, universalist, and positivist approaches, and make room for the whole individual body, mind, and self-- in its theorizing about religion and society. (Roof; 1996) The social institution of religion is not dying, so much as evolving; it has gone underground and shifted, re-emerging in a new form. This new form of religious behavior is primarily focused on the nebulous goal of achieving spirituality. Again, Houtman and Aupers speak to this emerging trend: What we are witnessing today is not so much a disappearance of religion, but rather a relocation of the sacred. Gradually losing its transcendent character, the sacred becomes more and more conceived of as immanent and residing in the deeper layers of the self. At least in many places, religion is giving way to spirituality. (Houtman and Aupers; 2007) For the social scientist interested in such matters, studying something so insubstantial and difficult to pin down as spirituality is a daunting task. Some researchers have looked for the spiritual seekers and found them within the increasing number of respondents who identify

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themselves as SBNR. The segment of the population who self-identify in national religious affiliation polls with SBNR is steadily increasing, from a statistically insignificant number in the eighties to 14-17% of respondents (Newport; 2012, Houtman and Aupers; 2007, Grossman; 2010). For the study of religious behavior, this paradigmatic shift has created a number of challenges: significant questions are being raised regarding core assumptions about methodology of research, range and direction of study, and the underlying thesis that have driven the field (Kaskutas; 2003). Some have called for re-thinking and re-centering the entire field of study (Cadge et al; 2011). Others have demanded that the sociology of religion confront its own biases against implicit, quasi, and invisible religions (Kurtz; 2008). First Attempts, First Failures In order to operationalize the question of spirituality - what it is, how it is identified, how it is exercised, and whether it can even be called religious behavior at all - researchers have created a number of surveys and questionnaires (Bliss; 2007, Rowan; 2006, Cook; 2004). Quickly, these research tools were found to have a common weakness: they are universally difficult to administer because of the very nature of the SBNR group and the "mushiness" (Grossmanl; 2010) and "fuzziness" (Zinnbauer et al; 1997) of the concept of spirituality. Defining spirituality is in itself a daunting task, as Christopher Cook discovered in his literature review of over 300 social science articles on the topic, in which he discovered that: ...only 12% of papers was the term spirituality found to be explicitly defined. In a further 32% of papers a description of the concept of spirituality was offered and in 11% a related concept was defined.... However, in 42% of papers spirituality was left undefined, and in only nine of these papers was it stated

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explicitly that spirituality was either too difficult to define or would be left deliberately undefined. (Cook; 2004) Not only is the spirituality of the SBNRs difficult to define, not only are the individual members of the SBNR community difficult to find... but Spirituality as understood by the researchers themselves is difficult to pin down. Summary: SBNRs don't belong to an organization that can be polled. They don't possess a single theology or dogma that can be analyzed. They don't have membership roles that can be counted. They are, for the most part, invisible. There is, however, one easily accessible place where SBNRs gather, pray together, and talk about their various understandings of spirituality and religious seeking. It is a location that the social scientist can enter with little preparation and interact with representative samples of the SBNR community. As far as we have been able to ascertain, it has yet to be identified as such in the religious sociological literature. That place is the omnipresent twelve step meeting. Before describing how the proposed research seeks to investigate the SBNR phenomenon within the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and Narcotics Anonymous (N.A.), a second issue must first be addressed: Borrowed Tools While it is true that the undisciplined spirituality of SBNRs has not been the object of clear sociological scrutiny, spirituality itself has been the subject of rigorous academic study for decades. This research was rarely completed by religious scholars, however. Recent studies peer-reviewed work completed on spirituality expressed outside the realms of traditional religious behavior have been the provenance, almost exclusively, of disciplines associated with

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the medical fields, primarily health, addiction, and aging research (Kelly; 2011, Humphreys; 2010, Krentzman; 2010, Kaskutas; 2003, Mkel; 1991). During the past twenty years, the medical community has taken spirituality, specifically as it relates to aging, mental wellbeing, and physical health, very seriously (Belzen; 2009). Within this family of research, the spirituality of active members of twelve step groups and the associated correlations with long-term recovery have been studied exhaustively by addiction professionals (McGovern 2006; Mathew 1996). This has resulted in a myriad of research projects that have studied the connection between spirituality and the efficacy of addiction treatment outcomes. Of course, twelve step programs have been investigated by sociologists as well. However, because A.A., N.A., and other twelve step programs are not classically understood as religions, sociologists have focused their interest on other questions (Room; 1995). Sociologists have investigated the process of recovery from addiction and how that recovery affects society as a whole. They have investigated how twelve step programs enable reintegration of dispossessed members of society. They have studied the economic impact of addiction and sober grandparents and intra-group conflicts (Tonigan; 2007). What they have rarely been inclined to study is whether AA (and similar organizations) are pseudo, quasi-, or implicit religions nor how such groups endorsement of a religion-free type of spirituality has expressed itself in social engagement (Chalfant; 2007). Insofar are such organizations perpetuate a SBNR philosophy, we believe that lack of study is unfortunate.

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Summary: The social scientist has a tremendous wealth of information at her fingertips on the spirituality of those in twelve step programs. This work, peer reviewed and repeated by scholars across the nation, has broad implications for the study of the SBNR community. The religious sociologist is not starting from scratch, so-to-speak, nor must she reinvent the wheel. There are a wide variety of studies that can be used as jumping off points if the sociological researchers involved are careful to use an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach. Twelve Step Recovery Groups as SBNR Communities At the end of every Narcotics Anonymous meeting, members stand in a circle and the following selection from chapter eight of The Basic Text of Narcotics Anonymous is read aloud. The selection that is italicized is chanted in unison. When at the end of the road we find that we can no longer function as a human being, either with or without drugs, we all face the same dilemma. What is there left to do? For the first time in mans entire history, a simple way has been proving itself in the lives of many addicts. It is available to us all. This is a simple spiritualnot religiousprogram, known as Narcotics Anonymous. (Basic Text; 1988). It is a point of discussion in many N.A. meetings: NA culture insists that the spirituality that leads to sustained recovery is divorced from all forms of traditional religiosity. Being notreligious is seen as more authentic, more genuine, and infinitely more desirable than being religious.

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In a similar way, Alcoholics Anonymous is committed to spirituality over religious behavior (Kurtz; 1979). However, the emphasis in A.A. in contrast with the sister organization, N.A. is on accepting all views and religious traditions rather than preferring one over another or in emphasizing spirituality as different / better than religiosity. In the chapter of The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous titled We Agnostics, Bill Wilson wrote that: We have no desire to convince anyone that there is only one way by which faith can be acquired. . We think it no concern of ours what religious bodies our members associate themselves with as individuals. This should be an entirely personal affair which each one decides for himself in the light of past associations or his present choice. (Big Book; 1976) Lest there be any confusion on the point, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services recently published a newsletter sent to addiction professionals titled "We Tread Innumerable Paths." One of the most common misconceptions about Alcoholics Anonymous is that it is a religious organization. New and prospective members in particular, when confronted with A.A.s emphasis on recovery from alcoholism by spiritual means, often translate spiritual as religious and shy away from meetings, avoiding what they perceive as a new and frightening set of beliefs. (Newsletter; Winter 2009) On this point, writers associated with A.A. and N.A. attempt to delineate between being religious and being spiritual again and again. As an example, Nan Robertson, the New York Times reporter and self-admitted member of A.A., writes that:

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Nothing makes a member of Alcoholics Anonymous more uncomfortable than the comment that A.A. is "religious." Members constantly hear non-alcoholics expressing admiration for A.A. They say, "It's a magnificent organization..." And then they say "...only I couldn't take the God part." The public perception that A.A. is composed of a bunch of smooth-talking Christers is even more deeply rooted than the image of member as skid row bums. (Robertson; 1988). The Norweigan sociologist Mkel studied AA extensively, both in the US and in Norway, and wrote on this question in "Social and Cultural Preconditions of Alcoholics Anonymous and Factors Associated with the Strength of AA. She explains that within recovery groups, a non-traditional and highly individualized understanding of religious experience is key (Mkel; 1980, 1991). Alyssa Forechimes expands on the discussion, claiming that: [S]piritual transformations are the distinguishing factor between abstinence and sobriety.... These discrete, life-changing spiritual-transformation experiences deserve to be understood more completely... Sobriety is intertwined with spirituality in a way that necessitates a spiritual transformation for successful recovery. (Forechimes; 2004) If we take the current understanding of the SBNR community and apply it to twelve step recovery groups, we find an almost one-to-one comparison. The factors that characterize an individual SBNR person and the factors that characterize an active participant of a twelve step recovery group are, at least on the surface, identical. Hill and Pargaments assessment of the SBNR movement sounds remarkably like A.A. and N.A.s self-description:

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[O]ne is witnessing, particularly in the United States, a polarization of religiousness and spirituality, with the former representing an institutional, formal, outward, doctrinal, authoritarian, inhibiting expression and the latter representing an individual, subjective, emotional, inward, unsystematic, freeing expression. (Hill and Pargament; 2008). Summary: Twelve step recovery groups like A.A. and N.A. are microcosms of the national SBNR movement. They express the same individual-oriented and experiential, nondogmatic religious emphasis, have the same interest in a lifestyle and worldview that is overwhelmingly spiritual and tend not to identify themselves with particular religious organizations or denominations. Research Project Proposal; Theory, Methodology, Timetable and Budget Working Theoretical Framework The SBNR community is a growing segment of the American population and the focus of much sociological interest and quantitative study. Unfortunately, this growing population has not been the subject of much qualitative study. As explained previously, this is due in large part to previously-held theories of secularization, a myopic focus on traditional religious expression, and a failure to clearly define the terms of interest. At the same time, there is a tremendous wealth of data that can be mined within the medical literature concerning non-traditional religious experience, data especially rich and varied concerning twelve step recovery groups. For these reasons, we believe that research targeted at the SBNR component of the not-religious, yet profoundly spiritual philosophies, affiliations and religious-like practices of local members of

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twelve step recovery groups would be a beneficial expansion of the literature of the sociology of religion. Methodology As indicated by this review of the extant scholarship, quantitative analysis of attitudes and opinions of the SBNR community is highly problematic. Therefore, we will not be attempting a survey and subsequent inferential statistical analysis. For these reasons, as well as constraints on resources and time, this project will rely on a substantive analysis of recovery literature and associated materials. Following initial research, the study will be confined to a series of ten to fifteen interviews, designed in conjunction with the faculty advisor and following an open-ended interview model with local volunteer subjects who are active members of a twelve step recovery program. Here follows a detailed description of the methodological approach that will be utilized: !"#$%$&$'()*+,&$%$*+'&-.) There are several message boards located within AA and NA clubhouses (a clubhouse is a property devoted to recovery group meetings, in which multiple small groups with various dependency issues meet on a daily basis). I plan to post a simple flier announcing my desire to interview AA and NA members with a year or more of continuous abstinence concerning their experiences and understanding of spirituality. The "time of recovery" requirement is in place to protect the fragile early development of individuals new to the process of recovery from chemical addiction. The most desirable research subjects are those with significant time and exposure to the spiritual traditions that make up the implicitly religious side of recovery programs.

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This flier will include a brief explanation of how the research will maintain individual anonymity and lay out the basic purposes of the interview: sociological research. It will have my contact number and email address and invite AA and NA members with a year or more of continuous recovery to be involved. !"#$%&'()*+",-$&./* The interviews form the core of the research and will be audio recorded, transcribed by TranscribPro software, and then carefully edited to remove any inadvertent reference to individual or identifying information. The names, ages, and identifying background information of each participant (if present) will be changed within the transcribed interview before analysis and coding. A pseudonym will be assigned to each interviewee. No other records will be kept; the anonymity of the participants will remain absolute. 0%'12#3/* Because members of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous frequently join such organizations because chemical addictions might affect their social standing, no written records of association with the research study will be maintained. No one will be asked to sign privacy statements and no signed documents will be held during or after the interviews. 4-"*0%"2567"/* "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me today. Before we begin, I wanted to make a few things clear. Our conversation is for research purposes. I am investigating the connection between spirituality and the recovery community from the perspective of the Sociology of Religion. If any questions upset you or you simply prefer not to answer, you may tell me so and I will respect your wishes. Furthermore, if you wish to stop the interview at any time, you are free to do so. You have the right to follow your own moral compass in what you wish to reveal and what you wish to keep private.

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While making that decision, keep in mind that you have complete and total anonymity. Our conversation is being recorded, and after we are done, the audio file will go through a program called TranscribPro that will turn the audio into a text document. I will then go through the text, double-check for accuracy, and then delete the audio. I will then go through the text again and eliminate any reference that could personally identify you, replacing your name with a pseudonym and afterwards deleting the original file. No reference to your identity will ever be made within the research document and no research files, published or unpublished, will be held for future reference. Do you have any questions? Do I have your permission to proceed? 4-"*8(,"%1'"9/* The core of the research concerns attitudes, and as such, survey-style questions are inappropriate. Instead, the interview will consist of a dialogue, approximately sixty minutes in length, directed by a number of leading, open-ended questions. Follow-up and exploratory questions will be asked based on responses. The basic interview schedule may be found below: o General Questions Concerning Recovery from Chemical Addiction: ! How long have you been in recovery? What led to you coming to (AA/NA)? Have you relapsed during that time? Why do you think that happened?

o General Questions Concerning Religious Background: ! What was your religious background before coming to (AA/NA)? Was your family a member of a religious denomination?

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organization directly before/ during your initial contact with (AA/ NA)? If not, why not? Are you a member of a religious organization now? Which one? Would you consider your involvement extensive, moderate, or infrequent? If not affiliated, why not? o Concerning Religion and Spirituality ! Do you consider religion and spirituality to be different, the same, or related? How? Do you consider spirituality a major part of your recovery from chemical addiction? How? If not, why not? What things/behaviors/ mindsets do you consider to be significantly "spiritual?" What things/behaviors/ mindsets do you consider to be significantly "religious?" What are the differences that you see between the two? Is one better than the other or do you find them essentially equal? Can a religious AND spiritual person recover from addiction without the help of (AA/NA)? If not, why not? o Concerning the Implicitly Religious Nature of 12 Step Recovery Programs

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! Do you think that (AA/NA) is similar or dissimilar to other religious organizations? If not, why not? Do you consider the approved literature of (AA/NA) spiritual? Inspired? Do you consider the founders of (AA/NA) "special" or "blessed?" What can you tell me about the history of (AA/NA)? Do you consider the 12 steps to be derived from religious teachings? Timetable and Budget May 1st : Substantive research on literature and associated scholarship June: 1st: Interviews, coding responses and organizing results July: 1st : Analysis and preparation of research findings August 1st: Presentation

The Grant will be used to pay for books and research materials, provide for interview materials and transportation, as well as supplement the students living expenses so that a fulltime approach to the project can be taken. Student Background and Personal Importance As a former seminary student and theologian, I am well familiar with the study of applied religion. I entered UCF to investigate the other side of religious activity: the academic study of the science and philosophy of religious experience. I am an interdisciplinary student, and as such, have had the opportunity to look at religious expression from multiple vantage points anthropological, philosophical, literary, psychological and comparative. Today, I am increasingly

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interested in the sociological study of religion and have found that my previous studies have prepared me well for the work. I believe that this project will enable me to integrate an interdisciplinary approach and do something unique for an undergraduate and truly exciting: legitimately expand the field that I am researching. The primary support that Dr. Gay will be providing is in regards preparations for and analysis of the interview schedule. This will be a new type of research for me and one that I am incredibly anxious to begin. However, it is new. I will be looking to Dr. Gay for guidance in preparing a well-defined series of questions (with associated follow-ups) and assistance in the coding and development process afterwards.

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Works Cited Belzen, Jacob A. "Studying The Specificity Of Spirituality: Lessons From The Psychology Of Religion." Mental Health, Religion & Culture 12.3 (2009): 205-22. Web. Berger, P. L. The Desecularization Of The World: A Global Overview., 1999. Web. 2/13/2013 4:43:44 Pm. Bliss, D. L. "Empirical Research On Spirituality And Alcoholism: A Review Of The Literature." Journal Of Social Work Practice In The Addictions 7.4 (2007): 5-25. Web. Cadge, Wendy, Peggy Levitt, And David Smilde. "De-Centering And Re-Centering: Rethinking Concepts And Methods In The Sociological Study Of Religion." Journal For The Scientific Study Of Religion 50.3 (2011): 437-49. Web. Chalfant, H. Paul. "Stepping To Redemption: Twelve Step Groups As Implicit Religion." Free Inquiry In Creative Sociology 20.2 (1992): 115-20. Print. Cook, Christopher C. H. "Addiction And Spirituality." Addiction 99.5 (2004): 539-51. Web. Forcehimes, Alyssa A. "De Profundis: Spiritual Transformations In Alcoholics Anonymous." Journal Of Clinical Psychology 60.5 (2004): 503-17. Web. Hemingway, Mollie Ziegler. "Flunking Pew's Pop Quiz." Christianity Today 55.1 (2011): 62-. Web. Hill, Peter C., And Kenneth I. Pargament. "Advances In The Conceptualization And Measurement Of Religion And Spirituality: Implications For Physical And Mental Health Research." Psychology Of Religion And Spirituality S.1 (2008): 3-17. Web.

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Hollywood, Amy. "Spiritual But Not Religious: The Vital Interplay Between Submission And Freedom." Harvard Divinity Bulletin (Vol. 38, Nos. 1 & 2).Winter/Spring 2010 : 2/15/2013. Web. 2/15/2013. Horstmann, Monica J., And J. S. Tonigan. "Faith Development In Alcoholics Anonymous (Aa): A Study Of Two Aa Groups." Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 18.4 (2000): 75-84. Web. Houtman, Dick, And Stef Aupers. "The Spiritual Turn And The Decline Of Tradition: The Spread Of Post-Christian Spirituality In 14 Western Countries, 1981-2000." Journal For The Scientific Study Of Religion 46.3 (2007): 305-20. Web. Kaskutas, Lee Ann, Et Al. "The Role Of Religion, Spirituality And Alcoholics Anonymous In Sustained Sobriety." Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 21.1 (2003): 1-16. Web. Krentzman, Amy R., Kathleen J. Farkas, and Aloen L. Townsend. "Spirituality, Religiousness, and Alcoholism Treatment Outcomes: A Comparison between Black and White Participants." Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 28.2 (2010): 128-50. Web. Kurtz, Ernest. The Collected Ernie Kurtz. 2nd Ed. New York: Authors Choice Press: Iuniverse, 2008. Print. ---. Not-God: A History Of Alcoholics Anonymous. Hazelden Educ. Services, Box 176. Center City, Minn. 55012, 1979. Web. Mkel, K. (Analytic). "Social And Cultural Preconditions Of Alcoholics Anomymous (Aa) And Factors Associated With The Strength Of Aa (English)." Tr.J.Addict.(1980) 86.11 (1991): 1405-13. Web. Mathew, Roy J., and Jeffrey Georgi. "How do You Measure Spirituality?" DATA: The Brown University Digest of Addiction Theory & Application 15.9 (1996): 1. Web.

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McGovern, Thomas F., and Terry McMahon. "Spirituality and Religiousness and Alcohol/Other Drug Problems: Conceptual Framework." Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 24.1-2 (2006): 7-19. Web. Mercadante, Linda A. "The Seeker Next Door: What Drives The 'Spiritual But Not Religious'?" Christian Century 129.11 (2012): 30-3. Web. Narcotics Anonymous. Van Nuys, Ca, U.S.A.: World Service Office, 1988; 5th Ed, 1988. Web. Newport, Frank. "In U.S., Increasing Number Have No Religious Identity." 16 Feb. 2012 2012.Web. Robertson, Nan. Getting Better: Inside Alcoholics Anonymous. Ed. Thomas Congodon. 1st Ed. New York: William Morrow And Company, Inc, 1988. Print. Roof, Wade Clark. A Generation Of Seekers: The Spiritual Journeys Of The Baby Boom Generation. Harper: San Francisco, 1993. Web. ---. "God Is In The Details: Reflections On Religion's Public Presence In The United States In The Mid-1990s." Sociology Of Religion 57 (1996): 149-62. Web. Room, Robin. "Alcoholics Anonymous As A Social Movement." Journal Of Studies On Alcohol 56 (1995): 10-. Web. Rowan, N. L., et al. "The Higher Power Relationship Scale: A Validation." Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions 6.3 (2006): 81-95. Web. Tonigan, J. S. "Spirituality And Alcoholics Anonymous." Southern Medical Journal 100.4 (2007): 437-40. Web.

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W., Bill. Alcoholics Anonymous : The Story Of How Many Thousands Of Men And Women Have Recovered From Alcoholism. New York : Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, 1976; 3d Ed, 1976. Web. "We Tread Innumerable Paths." About AA: A Newsletter For Professionals: 1. (Winter) 2009. Web. Zinnbauer, Brian J., Et Al. "Religion And Spirituality: Unfuzzying The Fuzzy." Journal For The Scientific Study Of Religion.4 (1997): 549.Web.