What comes to your mind when you hear the word cult? Jim Jones Kool Aid? David Koresh? Charles Manson? The Texas Polygamist Compound? Maybe even Scientology. Do the words Alcoholic's Anonymous come to mind? I certainly have never thought of Alcoholics Anonymous as a cult and I am a member. As many people know from my recent blog post, I have been in AA for over a year.



I received many emails and comments in response to that post. Many of those commenting believed that Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a cult. I frankly take those comments with a grain of salt. All of them were from former AA members. When you are at a low point in your life and counting on something to help you turn that life around but that something does not work, what do you do? You don't look to yourself because you know you cannot change by yourself. You blame everyone else. You blame the program. You dismiss, you denigrate, you destroy. You do anything except take personal responsibility for your failure. I know this because I have been at that low point. Turning to AA for assistance in moving past that point does not make AA a cult; it makes you human.

Let us start with the premise that AA as an overall organization cannot possibly qualify as a cult because it has no central authority structure. No one is handing down edicts from the top saying you must do this or that to stay in the group. This is because there is no top. To be a cult, an organization, as a whole, must have a "top" in terms of its authority structure.

This leaves us with the question of whether the AA philosophy encourages "cult- like behavior" in its thousands of chapters. Perhaps the personality makeup of the specific chapter can cause the group to function like a cult. I believe, however, that it is the very rare exception rather than the rule.

The other day someone who read my blog, sent me an article about an AA chapter in Washington D.C that was accused of being a cult. The members of this chapter of AA basically encouraged younger female members to have sex with older male members and encouraged members in general to discontinue all ties with anyone who was not a member of this AA chapter. Does that ring the "cult bell" in your head? It certainly does in mine. You can read that article here.

Yes, I agree that this particular chapter probably qualified as a cult, but to say that the actions of an isolated group within a larger organization classifies that larger group as a cult is ludicrous. When these allegations were made public, this group was, in fact, disbanded as an AA sanctioned group.

What else would classify AA as a cult? The biggest book on this subject is AA: Cult or Cure by Charles Bufe who delineates a litany of conditions that qualify AA as a cult. I am not going to debate his criteria. Why? Words are like statistics—you form your opinion, then you make them fit the point you want to make... I frankly could take Bufe's points and make a good argument that the Boy Scouts of America is a cult .

Any time you have people coming together in a group of any kind, you are going to have formal and informal criteria for membership even at the lowest level. You are going to have a common purpose. You are going to have strong personalities and weak personalities. You are going to have strong personalities that overwhelm and dominate weaker personalities. You are going to have weaker personalities who have to adopt the essence of the stronger ones to excel in the group. Does that happen in AA? Of course it does. Does that happen in the Boy Scouts? Of course it does. Did that happen in my law school study group? You bet. That happened in my weekly poker game. Those attributes do not transform each of the aforementioned organizations into a cult. They are simply the attributes of group dynamics.

These personality issues can be much more pronounced in self-help groups like AA. No one is walking into an AA meeting because they are at a high point in their life. They are defeated, they are weak, they have lost their sense of self, their self-respect, their family, their independent life, etc. They are open to almost every and any suggestion that will put them on a new track of self-respect and sobriety. This certainly lends itself to the danger of domination by strong personalities with amoral motives in the group without checks and balances. AA groups have checks and balances. These checks and balances are the members themselves who are different, diverse, and compassionate, looking out for each other and not trying to reform each other.

So, is AA a cult? I don't think so, but since each person has to make it work for them as an individual, I can see how some people who fail at it would take solace in viewing it that way. Of course, those who think it is a cult would argue that I am a "cult member" and cult members never think they are in a cult. I have not read Catch-22 in many years, but it sounds as if I am certainly not going out to fly that next mission so I can get out of the army.

I can also see how people with personalities that are just not compatible with a core philosophy would not succeed in AA and view it as a cult. Is there any group out there that does not have a core philosophy? These people, however, probably have issues in any group setting in which conformity to certain standards is an element of reaching a common goal. Is there any group out there where some level of conformity is not needed to reach a common goal?

AA does offer a program of conformity, but AA is not about conformity. AA is not about submission to others in the group. I will not dispute that AA is about submitting to the fact that you have a problem and want help. Seeking help from people who have experienced similar circumstances, but remaining free to choose and make your own decisions indicates the individual is exercising free will. Cults do not allow the existence of free will because some manner of mind-control is practiced to create the cult I sought help from an organized group when I studied for the Texas Bar Exam. Is the legal profession a cult? I know some who would say yes, but the truth is we seek comfort and strength in groups of people who have similar experiences, problems, or goals.

AA is not about shunning those who do not conform or submit. AA is about people with a desire to stop drinking and helping other people with a desire to stop drinking.

If that is a cult, pass me the Kool Aid...

Copyright (c) 2008 Brian Cuban