Is Alcoholics Anonymous a Cult?
When they told me that if I left I would die, I had my first doubts about the program. I call it cult-like or cult-lite, mainly because if I call it a cult, people stop listening and there’s no chance of dialog. AA historian Dick B calls it a beneficial cult. Harvard professor, researcher, and member of AA’s Board of Trustees, George Vaillant said: “In a balanced review Nace 1992 has examined some facets of AA that attracts criticism. First because of its idealogical nature members are not encouraged to take a scientific or dissionate approach to the study of its effiacy. Personally based loyalty to the ideology of AA comes into conflict with the empiricism of the research community. Second AA does not hold opinions, individual members like any partisan group can be extremely and erreonously opinionated. Third , AA certainly functions as a cult and indoctrinates its members in ways common to cults the world over.” “The Natural History of Alcoholism Revisited”, pages p. 266 AA critic Or
