I’ve heard about 12 step programmes – aren’t they religious?
The simple answer is no – absolutely not. People sometimes get confused about this because the 12 step programmes encourage you to consider and develop your own personal spiritual beliefs. Spirituality is different from religion as it is concerned with how you think and feel about yourself, other people and the world around you. The 12 step programmes help people to move on from the sense of emptiness and hopelessness that they have felt in their addiction and to find a new sense of happiness and meaning in their lives. Because this meaning is individual to each person the programme can work just as well for those who have no religious beliefs and those who follow a particular faith.
