Avant-propos du premier tirage de la première édition (1939) de "ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS"

N'OUBLIONS PAS AL-ANON, ALATEEN 

Canada, Colombie Britannique

Un article dans la presse canadienne fait état, cette semaine, du fait que le site de AA Toronto ne référence plus les groupes agnostiques "Beyond Belief" et "We Agnostics", après qu'ils aient supprimé totalement le mot "Dieu" dans les étapes du programme.

Article du "Toronto Star" (3 juin 2011) : link 

At the beginning of our meetings, after the A.A. preamble is read, the chairperson reads the following "agnostic preamble":

This group of A.A. attempts to maintain a tradition of free expression, and conduct a meeting where alcoholics may feel free to express any doubts or disbeliefs they may have, and to share their own personal form of spiritual experience, their search for it, or their rejection of it. We do not endorse or oppose any form of religion or atheism. Our only wish is to assure suffering alcoholics that they can find sobriety in A.A. without having to accept anyone else's beliefs or having to deny their own.

Les étapes des "groupes sans Dieu/Puissance Supérieure"

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to accept and to understand that we needed strengths beyond our awareness and resources to restore us to sanity. 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 the A.A. program. 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 ourselves without reservation, and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were ready to accept help in letting go of all our defects of character. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly sought to have our shortcomings removed. 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 mindful inquiry and meditation to improve our spiritual awareness, seeking only for knowledge of our rightful path in life and the power to carry that out. 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 alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

En vert : les - en noir barré: les étapes originelles qui ont été modifiées

A noter qu'il existe divers "mouvements" athées et/ou agnostiques NON-AA, dont "SOS" (Save Our Selves), qui compte quelque 100 000 membres (en 2005)   http://www.sossobriety.org/

ou des groupes AA qui préfèrent ne pas mettre en avant Dieu ou la Puissance Supérieure, sans pour autant en supprimer la notion : http://www.agnosticaanyc.org/

Pour ceux ou celles qui désirent en savoir plus, voir les minutes du Monthly General  Meeting of intergroup du Greater Toronto Area Intergroup d'avril 2011 (pages 8 à 12)  link

Le Grand Toronto comptabilise 500 réunions par semaine