During the early decades of the twentieth century, a man named Bill Wilson, a talented entrepreneur and businessman, was sinking deeper into addiction to alcohol. He tried everything available at that time to give it up but would always eventually return to drinking, as his career and home life deteriorated. He sought opinions about his drinking problem from experts and found that there were no satisfactory answers.

He eventually encountered a friend and old drinking buddy who was sober, happy, and apparently doing well.

What his friend had discovered was that by giving his “struggle over to God” and by “taking it one day at a time” he was able to stay sober; his life had turned around, and he was happier than he had ever been. Bill Wilson took the same steps.

Recognizing that he had to be of service to others in order to stay sober, he began to spread the word by calling on alcoholics who were willing to listen - those in hospital wards or on the streets - and simply relating his experiences and offering to listen. By 1935, the organization Alcoholics Anonymous was born. Today there are tens of millions of members worldwide. The 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous have been adopted and utilized by people with all types of addictions and behavior problems; groups include Overeaters Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Codependents Anonymous.

The basic premise of 12-step recovery is a spiritual one. It is based on the conviction that addiction involves spiritual bankruptcy characterized mainly by “self-will run riot.” Recovery begins by admitting that the addiction is out of your control and that your life is out of control. This is the first step, and it is an admission of hopelessness. What happens next is best decribed in “Who Gets Addicted and How” section, “There Is a Solution.” The section tells of a man’s trip to Europe to consult with Dr. Carl Jung, a noted psychoanalyst, about his alcoholism:

Some of our alcoholic readers may think they can do without
spiritual help. Let us tell you the rest of the conversation our
friend had with his doctor.
The doctor said: “You have the mind of a chronic alcoholic.
I have never seen one single case recover, where that state of
mind existed to the extent that it does in you.” Our friend felt as
though the gates of hell had closed in on him with a clang.
He said to the doctor, “Is there no exception?”
“Yes,” replied the doctor, “there is. Exceptions to cases such
as yours have been occurring since early times. Here and there,
once in a while, alcoholics have had what are called vital spiritual
experiences. To me these occurrences are phenomena. They
appear to be in the nature of huge emotional displacements
and rearrangements. Ideas, emotions, and attitudes which were once the guiding forces of the lives of these men are suddenly
cast to one side, and a completely new set of conceptions and
motives begins to dominate them. In fact, I have been trying to
produce some such emotional rearrangement within you. With
many individuals the methods which I employed are successful,
but I have never been successful with an alcoholic of your
description.”
Upon hearing this, our friend was somewhat relieved, for
he reflected that, after all, he was a good church member. This
hope, however, was destroyed by the doctor’s telling him that
while his religious convictions were very good, in his case they
did not spell the necessary spiritual experience.
Here was the terrible dilemma in which our friend found
himself when he had the extraordinary experience, which as we
have already told you, made him a free man.
We, in our turn, sought the same escape with all the
desperation of drowning men. What seemed at first a flimsy
reed has proved to be the loving and powerful hand of God. A
new life has been given us or, if you prefer, “a design for living”
that really works.

The original members of Alcoholics Anonymous were quick to point out that this was not a religious program, even though there is an emphasis on God. Instead they stressed the importance of personal spirituality in the process of recovery.

They recognized that many alcoholics had problems with the concept of God, and the final version of the book Alcoholics Anonymous contained the additional words “as we understood Him” when God was mentioned in the 12 steps. A belief in God is not necessary in order to begin recovering through a 12-step program, but a “spiritual awakening” is part of a successful 12-step recovery. Recovering alcoholics and addicts in 12-step programs often express gratitude, saying that when the addiction knocked them to their knees was when they found God.

Many people find that their addiction goes into remission following a spiritual conversion. Church-based addiction programs emphasize spiritual growth and religious maturity.

The basic concept of recovery here is not very different from Alcoholics Anonymous and the other 12-step programs, but these approaches include a doctrinal aspect specific to a religion.