'Spirituality versus religiosity'

Key findings (British Social Attitudes) Less religious attachment

“Less religious attachment

We start by examining whether people's attachments to these three identities are indeed in decline, beginning with religion. Here there is little doubt that a substantial change has taken place, with a marked decline in the proportion who describe themselves as belonging to a particular religion. In 1983, around two in three people (68 per cent) considered themselves to belong to one religion or another; in 2012, only around half (52 per cent) do so. As our Personal relationships chapter sets out, this decline is in practice a decline in attachment to Anglicanism; in 1983 two in five people (40 per cent) said they were Anglican, and the Church of England could still reasonably lay claim to being England's national church (and thus, arguably, to some extent its fount of moral authority). But now only 20 per cent do so. In contrast, the proportion saying they belong to a religion other than Christianity has tripled from two to six per cent. Britain's religious landscape has not only become smaller but also more diverse.[2]”

Comment: The writing, as they say, is well and truly on the wall! The increasing trend towards secularism and “spiritual individualism” both here and in the West generally has serious implications for AA if we don't make our position on religious affiliation absolutely crystal clear ie. we aren't and never have been! AA literature (ie. conference approved) indicates that whatever conception of God (or Higher Power) one might be inclined towards this is strictly a personal matter and moreover open to the widest possible interpretation with views ranging from the more or less orthodox to the quite frankly bizarre, but which include a secularist perspective (notwithstanding the undeniably patronising tenor of some passages in the Big Book and the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions). Given the increasing numbers of AA members who are either atheist, agnostic, humanist or secular etc (ie. non-religious, and who, incidentally, are quite easily able to remain sober) there needs to be a concerted effort directed towards ensuring that potential members are made aware of the fact that participation in AA is not dependent on a particular religious viewpoint, nor for that matter is their recovery. These attempts, however, will be much hampered by the tendency on the part of the dogmatists in our midst to insist that there is only ONE TRUE PATH TO SALVATION – usually theirs of course! The use of the Lord's Prayer (predominantly in the US) during meetings is not helpful either nor is the insistence by some groups on the peculiar practice of holding hands and chanting whatever happens to be the latest fashionable mantra doing the rounds of the fellowship. Neither is prayer (on bended knees or indeed in any other position) a necessary prerequisite for recovery but willingness, honesty and open-mindedness most certainly are (something of which the aforementioned fundamentalists are in perilously short supply). In brief you can believe in any kind of axis about which the universe might swing, and call it what you like! That's your business so long as you don't believe YOU'RE IT!

See also: 

Spiritual but not religious

Spirituality

Religious Change around the World

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

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