June 11, 2021 | 7:30 p.m. | Online
About the Lecture
Like other 12-step recovery programs, Alcoholics Anonymous is described as a spiritual, rather than religious, program. However, its literature frequently mentions reliance on God or some other “Higher Power.” Recently, a growing number of AA and 12-step groups have adopted a nonreligious program of recovery that does not mention God, a Higher Power, or even spirituality. This organized faction of secular groups has challenged the traditional AA model and opened new spaces for nonreligious identities and beliefs. Through (anonymous) interviews with members of these groups, Zachary Munro examines this secular movement’s attempt to open AA and 12-step recovery to the growing demographic of people without religion.
About the Speaker
Zachary Munro
Doctoral Candidate, University of Waterloo / Researcher for Non-religion in a Complex Future
Zachary Munro is a PhD Candidate in the department of Sociology & Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo. For his dissertation research on the emergence of nonreligious cultures in 12-Step recovery groups, he interviewed members of the growing secular movement in Alcoholics Anonymous and attended dozens of their (open) meetings. He is currently working as a researcher for the Nonreligion in a Complex Future Project at the University of Ottawa, focusing on nonreligious attitudes towards death and dying as well nonreligious approaches in end-of-life care.