LA REALIDAD NO VISIBLE. ESPIRITUALIDAD Y RELIGIÓN EN ALCOHÓLICOS ANÓNIMOS: PROBLEMAS METODOLÓGICOS*

Abstract

In recent years, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has been the subject of interest from multiple disciplines seeking to understand the relationship between spirituality and the process of recovery from alcoholism. There is a debate in these studies about whether or not AA or its 12 Step Program is religious. In this article I am going to carry out a critical evaluation, from a comparative-reflexive perspective, of the methodological aspects applied to the analysis of the AA Program. The central thesis of the article is that, to understand the effects of spirituality in AA, it is necessary to attend to the approach of its Program, as well as the conceptions of spirituality that those who participate in the groups have. One of the central conclusions is that, although AA has unavoidable Christian roots, it is placed above any religion, since spirituality refers to the subjective dimension of experience that transcends the "I". For this reason, one of its principles, "the notion of a higher Power", is not reduced to a belief, but rather compromises the willingness to admit ungovernability: to gain control of one's life, control must be ceded to a higher Power.