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Secular Sobriety Resources

If you’re trying to get sober as an atheist or agnostic our group is here to help you.

Please note that some of the resources included in the list are not AA resources, but we include them here because we have found them helpful. We are not affiliated with many of these groups, nor can we endorse them as an AA group.

With that disclaimer out of the way, here are some resources we have found useful:

Online Meetings

  • WorldWide Secular Meetings
    This online meeting list adjusts to your time zone and shows meetings not only for Secular AA, but for other Secular recovery meetings (we’re great fans of LifeRing, for example).
  • Secular AA Online Meetings
    Another list focused on Secular AA only. This may include some meetings that WorldWide Secular Meetings doesn’t have yet.

In-Person Secular AA Meetings

  • In the AA Meeting Guide App, select “Filters”, then “Community”, and check “Secular”. Note that not all meetings meet every day, so you may need to check for meetings by different days of the week. Generally, in-person secular meetings will be harder to find, so you may want to mix some online secular meetings with traditional AA in person if you’re new.

Forums on Reddit

  • r/AASecular. This is a Reddit group that supports atheists and agnostics and all who enjoy a “freethinker” approach to AA.
  • r/stopdrinking.
    A support group for sobriety on Reddit! Although I don’t think I could have done so myself, some people use this alone to stay sober.

Other Secular Fellowships

Some other secular approaches to sobriety are:

  • LifeRing
    LifeRing is a fellowship based on the “3 S’s: Sobriety, Secularity, and Self Help.” They often use a “How was your week” check in format for their meetings.
  • SMART Recovery
    SMART emphasizes stigma-free recovery and self-empowererment. Their tools include the Cost/Benefit analysis (based on motivational interviewing), which is helpful in deciding if sobriety is right for you and increasing your willingness to recover.
  • Recovery Dharma
    Recovery Dharma meetings are peer-led, non-theistic, and based on Buddhist principles. Refuge Recovery is a similar group you might look into (see the comments). RD is not strictly “secular” since it’s derives from one of the world’s major religions just as AA does, but for most people in the west, that doesn’t matter.

Traditional AA

  • Getting Started in Sobriety and AA.
    This highly recommended reddit post links to AA meetings and resources, and information you need to sober up safely and successfully. Though some in Secular AA are here because they find AA’s spirituality uncomfortable, traditional AA has the advantage of many more in-person meetings, and some of us use both.

  • /r/alcoholicsanonymous/
    This a a widely read and popular Reddit forum dedicated to discussing AA in general. Worth a read.

Literature and Websites

  • Staying Sober Without God by Jeffrey Munn Written by an atheist who struggled at first to get sober in AA, the core of this book is a discussion of the “Practical 12 Steps”, a sane and secular rewrite of the Twelve Steps, together with step-by-step instructions that are often better than what one can find in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions book. Highly recommended.

  • Living Sober
    This book contains many tips for staying sober. Although it is traditional conference-approved AA literature, its tips are mostly practical and not “spiritual,” so it’s sometimes used as a topic leader in Secular AA meetings. Great for newcomers!

  • Beyond Belief
    “Agnostic musings” for those who enjoy a daily-reflections-style book.

  • AAAgnostica
    Secular AA doesn’t have an “official” website per se since we’re part of AA, but if we did, a case could be made that this is it! This site has been around forever and has lots of great stuff.