Secular AA in Poland
The Polish fellowship
On 16/08/2024, the Polish fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous celebrated its 50th anniversary for several days in the city of Poznań. Few people realize that Poznań is associated with the beginnings of the AA movement in Poland.
At the end of the 1960s, psychologist Maria Grabowska—sister of the well-known publicist and music critic Jerzy Waldorff—started to run group activities based on the principles of the 12-step program.
The group began to function independently in the autumn of 1974. Later, it took the name ‘Eleusis’. It was to become the first AA meeting in Poland. In 50 years, the fellowship has grown. It now comprises an inspiring 3000 weekly meetings, a testament to the hope and healing that AA brings.
The birth of Polish secular groups
The AAwAA group, the first secular AA meeting, was founded by Bogdan from Opole on August 22, 2019. This group meets online once a week and attracts between 30 to 50 people. It is a welcoming space for all AA members who don’t believe in God. The English abbreviation for AAwAA is Atheists and Agnostics in AA.
The second secular group is known as 4A. It was started by Peter (Piotr in Polish) on September 15, 2021. It is a face-to-face meeting held weekly in the city of Poznan. Since then, three more groups have sprung up.
An AA member, Mikolaj, founded “Otwart Umysl” in Warsaw on December 1, 2021. “Otwarty Umysl,” means “Open Mind.” It meets on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m.
On June 26, 2022, Michael (Michal in Polish) started “Swiecka Droga,” in Katowice. It means ‘The Secular Way.’
Finally, on August 17, 2022, Andrzej, Kasia, Tomek, Romek, and Krzysiek started “Oswiecenie.” It means “Enlightenment,” and the group meets in the Baltic coastal town of Kolobrzeg.
Secular activities
With their unique interpretations of the twelve steps that do not mention God or a higher power, secular AA’s growth is evident. In just five years, five groups are now running. The secular fellowship in Poland has become part of the ICSAA (International Conference of Secular AA). A Polish delegate will represent it at the conference.
International speakers are also regularly invited to speak at Polish meetings. A secular conference for atheists and agnostics is held every year in Opole. After four years of sometimes difficult negotiations, the literature committee approved one secular AA pamphlet for publication. It contains personal histories of atheists and agnostics who have achieved sobriety in the fellowship.
Now, alcoholics in Poland who don’t believe in God have the opportunity to get sober. The rapid growth of these groups is a clear sign of the need to support AA members who identify as non-believers.
Polish mainstream AA’s views on Secular groups
I was keen to learn as much as possible about Polish secular AA. Knowing that Poland is a Catholic country and being aware that the Church is involved with the fellowship, I asked one of the secular old-timers the following question:
Does the Catholic Church try to interfere in the growth of secular AA groups?
The Church does not interfere, but members of the AA Community do.
His answer immediately led to my next question. His answer did not surprise me. I had already experienced similar attitudes from mainstream AA in other countries.
In what ways does mainstream AA try to undermine secular groups?
They are unwilling to acknowledge and support our existence.
What is the reason for this?
They accuse us of undermining the unity of AA.
The question of AA unity
Not only in Poland but also internationally, the main criticism from mainstream AA is that secular groups violate the fellowship’s legacy of unity, an opinion frequently held by members who believe that alcoholics cannot recover without God’s help. Ironically, this point of view is the very thing that undermines the unity of AA.
Judging secular groups because of their belief systems violates AA’s third tradition. Moreover, members who hold the view that secular members create disunity have suggested that they should disassociate themselves from the rest of AA and start a fellowship of their own. This type of attitude also breaks the third tradition.
“The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking.”
The third tradition does not say:
The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking- ‘except for atheists, alcoholics, and freethinkers.’
Unity in diversity
On a personal level, after many years of relapse in AA, I did need to find some greater power to help with my powerlessness. With my sponsor’s guidance, that power was initially the AA group. Later on, when I agreed to go through the program, the suggestions of an Agnostic-friendly sponsor and the twelve steps became my higher powers.
The more I learned about my illness, the more I realized that the practice of love and service to others were the essential requirements to recover from alcoholism. I found them to be compelling and healing principles. The more I began to put them into practice, the more I saw them as non-theistic spiritual powers. The principles of love and service to others undoubtedly became powers greater than me.
Dr Bob’s farewell speech
Three months before he died, Dr. Bob, co-founder of AA, was invited to speak at the first international convention in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sunday, July 30th, 1950. What Dr. Bob said inspired me to take action. “Practicing these principles in all my affairs” (Step 12), I began feeling as much a part of AA as anyone else. The idea that, as a non-believer, I was somehow undermining the unity of AA began to strike me as dishonest and divisive.
“Our Twelve Steps, when simmered down to the last, resolve themselves into the words “love” and “service.” We understand what love is, and we understand what service is. So let’s bear those two things in mind.”
Dr. Bob
Copyright © – https://www.aa.org/dr-bobs-farewell-talk
Why have I mentioned Dr. Bob’s farewell talk in an article about secular AA in Poland? Mainstream AA accuses Secular groups of undermining AA’s unity. Dr. Bob made it very clear that the two core principles of AA are love and service to others. It is these principles, not a belief in God, that unify alcoholics in their journey towards recovery.
After working on a secular interpretation of the twelve steps, it was found that non-believers are just as capable of practicing love and service in AA as those who believe in God. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that it is not a belief in the traditional idea of God that unites alcoholics but a commitment to the practice of love and service. In this case, the problem of disunity between secular and mainstream AA suddenly becomes a non-issue in Poland and AA in every other country.
Bill Wilson
Bill Wilson, AA’s other co-founder, had definite ideas about what he wanted AA unity to look like. He made his views abundantly clear when Bill co-wrote the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
Here is the short form of the third tradition as it appears in the 12&12.
“Early intolerance based on fear. – To take away any alcoholic’s chance at AA was sometimes to pronounce his death sentence. Membership regulations abandoned. – Two examples of experience. – Any alcoholic is a member of AA when he says so.”
Bill Wilson will always be my hero. His spiritual and open-minded attitude to the principle of AA unity saved my life as an agnostic alcoholic. Bill’s legacy to AA was the belief that AA is essentially a spiritual, not religious, community. Being eclectic, it should always be all-inclusive.
In conclusion, here is a short excerpt from an article written by Bill in 1965. He called it ‘Responsibility is our theme.’
“Consequently, the full individual liberty to practice any creed or principle or therapy whatever should be a first consideration for us all. Let us not, therefore, pressure anyone with our individual or even our collective views. Instead, let us accord each other the respect and love due to every human being as he tries to make his way toward the light. Let us always try to be inclusive rather than exclusive; let us remember that each alcoholic among us is a member of AA, so long as he or she so declares.”
Bill W.
Copyright © AA Grapevine, Inc. (July 1965).
In fellowship
Andy F
