# Higher Power > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Higher_Power > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Higher_Power.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Power > Source revision: 1301076857 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Term used in Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs}} {{Otheruses}} "'''Higher Power'''" ('''HP''') {{cite book |last1 = Erchak |first1 = Gerald Michael |date = 1992 |chapter = Disorder: Mental and Behavioral |title = The Anthropology of Self and Behavior |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bbpBMqHmdPAC |edition = reprint |publication-place = New Brunswick, New Jersey |publisher = Rutgers University Press |page = 157 |isbn = 9780813517629 |access-date = 3 October 2024 |quote = A belief in a Higher Power ("HP") is required [by Alcoholics Anonymous]; officially, this can be any power higher than oneself — the group itself, for example. Unofficially, it is the traditional Christian male God; members in my study sample were strongly pressured to make God their higher power. }} is a term used in [Alcoholics Anonymous](/source/Alcoholics_Anonymous) (AA) and other [twelve-step program](/source/twelve-step_program)s.{{cite web|url=http://silkworth.net/religion_clergy/01018.html|title=The God Concept In Alcoholics Anonymous – Silkworth.net|last=Silkworth.net|website=silkworth.net}} The same groups use the phrases "a power greater than ourselves" and "God of our understanding" synonymously. The term is intentionally vague because the program is not tied to a particular religion or spiritual tradition; members may use it to refer to any [supreme being](/source/supreme_being) or [deity](/source/deity), another [conception of God](/source/conceptions_of_God), or even non-supernatural things such as the twelve-step program itself. == Definition and usage == In current [twelve-step program](/source/twelve-step_program) usage, a higher power can be anything at all that the member believes is adequate. Reported examples include their twelve-step group, [God](/source/God), [the Buddha](/source/the_Buddha), [nature](/source/nature), [consciousness](/source/consciousness), [existential freedom](/source/Existentialism), [mathematics](/source/mathematics), and [science](/source/science). It is frequently stipulated that as long as a higher power is "greater" than the individual, then the only conditions are that it should also be loving and caring, and able to relieve the individual of their alcoholism.{{cite journal |last=Baker |first= Michael P. |author2=Sellman, J. Douglas |author3=Horn, Jacqueline |year=2001 |title=Developing a God/higher power scale for use with twelve step treatment programs |journal=[Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly](/source/Alcoholism_Treatment_Quarterly) |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=45–61 |doi=10.1300/J020v19n02_03 |s2cid= 218636189 |issn=0734-7324}}{{cite journal |last1=Rudy |first1=David R. |last2=Greil |first2=Arthur L. |title=Is Alcoholics Anonymous a Religious Organization?: Meditations on Marginality |volume=50 |issue=1 |year=1989 |pages=41–51 |doi=10.2307/3710917 |journal=Sociological Analysis |jstor=3710917}}{{cite journal |last1=Helman |first1=Daniel S.|title=Mathematics for the masses: Door-to-door missionaries of math and twelve-step recovery programs |volume=12 |issue=1 |year=2022 |pages=428–442 |journal=Journal of Humanistic Mathematics |doi=10.5642/jhummath.202201.33 |url=https://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol12/iss1/33|doi-access=free }} === Alcoholics Anonymous === The terms ''higher power'' and ''power greater than ourselves'' appear many times in the "[Big Book](/source/The_Big_Book_(Alcoholics_Anonymous))". For example: {{quote| * "Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."{{cite book | last = Alcoholics Anonymous | title = Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of how Many Thousands of Men and Women have Recovered from Alcoholism | publisher = Alcoholics Anonymous World Services |date=February 2002 |edition = 4th | isbn = 1-893007-16-2 | oclc = 2353981 | chapter = Chapter 5: How It Works | chapter-url = http://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/en_bigbook_chapt5.pdf |access-date=2009-09-02}} * "The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against the first drink. Except in a few cases, neither he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a Higher Power."{{cite book | title = Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of how Many Thousands of Men and Women have Recovered from Alcoholism | author=Bill W. |author-link=Bill W. | publisher = Alcoholics Anonymous World Services |date=February 2002 | edition = 4th | isbn = 1-893007-16-2 | oclc = 2353981 | chapter = Chapter 3: More About Alcoholism | chapter-url = http://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/en_bigbook_chapt3.pdf |access-date=2009-09-02}} * "Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!"{{cite book | author=Bill W. |author-link=Bill W. | title = Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of how Many Thousands of Men and Women have Recovered from Alcoholism | publisher = Alcoholics Anonymous World Services | date=2002-02-10 | edition = 4th | isbn = 1-893007-16-2 | oclc = 2353981 | chapter = Chapter 7: Working With Others | chapter-url = http://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/en_bigbook_chapt7.pdf |access-date=2009-09-02}}}} == History == Sources that may have contributed to the adoption of the term in [Alcoholics Anonymous](/source/Alcoholics_Anonymous) (AA), the first twelve-step group, include [spirituality](/source/spirituality), the [King James Version](/source/King_James_Version) of the [Bible](/source/Bible), [New Thought](/source/New_Thought) religion, and the work of [William James](/source/William_James).{{cite book |title=Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers: A biography with recollections of Early AA in the Midwest |publisher=Alcoholics Anonymous World Services |isbn=0-916856-07-0 |date=December 1980 |pages=306–315}} James, who wrote "The only cure for [dipsomania](/source/dipsomania) is religiomania" in ''[The Varieties of Religious Experience](/source/The_Varieties_of_Religious_Experience),'' is cited in the "Spiritual Experience" appendix of ''[The Big Book](/source/The_Big_Book_(Alcoholics_Anonymous))'' of Alcoholics Anonymous.{{cite book |author=Bill W. |author-link=Bill W. |title=Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of how Many Thousands of Men and Women have Recovered from Alcoholism |chapter-url=http://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/en_bigbook_appendiceii.pdf |chapter=Spiritual Experience |publisher=Alcoholics Anonymous World Services |edition=4th |date=February 2002 |access-date=2009-09-02 |isbn=0-916856-59-3 |oclc=2353981}} ''Varieties of Religious Experience'' uses the singular term "higher power" four times, and the plural "higher powers" seven times, to refer to powers beyond the self that may provide assistance. The term has been cited as found in the King James version of the Bible, again in the plural form, in Romans 13:1: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." However, in this passage Saint Paul is referring to civil authorities such as kings and governments, rather than a spiritual power. == Correlates of belief == Sociologist [Darren Sherkat](/source/Darren_Sherkat) researched the belief of Americans in a higher power. He based his research on data from 8,000 adults polled by the Chicago-based National Opinion Research Center between 1988 and 2000. Among his findings were that 8% stated "I don't believe in a [personal god](/source/personal_god), but I do believe in a higher power of some kind." This is the same figure as found by the 1999 Gallup national poll of Americans. Sherkat also found that 16% of the [Jewish](/source/Jewish) people surveyed agreed with the statement about a 'higher power', while 13.2% of [liberal Protestant](/source/liberal_Protestant)s and 10.6% of [Episcopalians](/source/Episcopal_Church_(United_States)) also agreed with it.{{cite web |url=http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2004-12/americans-belief-god-high-nuanced-study-says|title=Americans' belief in God is high but nuanced, study says|last=Dart|first=John|date= December 14, 2004|publisher=Christian Century|access-date=2008-08-10 |url-access=registration }} An empirically based recovery framework likened faith in a higher power to [motivation for personal growth](/source/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs) as described by [Abraham Maslow](/source/Abraham_Maslow) and [Carl Rogers](/source/Carl_Rogers).{{cite journal |last=Ochocka |first=Joanna |author2=Nelson, Geoff |author3=Janzen, Rich |title=Moving Forward: Negotiating Self and External Circumstances in Recovery |pmid=15895914 |journal=Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal |volume=28 |issue=4 |date=Spring 2005 |pages=315–322 |doi=10.2975/28.2005.315.322|url=http://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=psyc_faculty |url-access=subscription }} == Criticism == === Nonreligious groups === The focus on a Higher Power in twelve-step programs has been subject to continued criticism from [nonreligious](/source/nonreligious) advocacy groups, who view the concept as fundamentally religious in nature even when not referring to a specific deity or religious tradition. [Secular Therapy Project](/source/Secular_Therapy_Project) founder [Darrel Ray](/source/Darrel_Ray) has characterised twelve-step programs as "religion disguised as treatment",{{cite web|url=https://states.atheists.org/analysis/twelve-step-programs-are-not-a-legitimate-treatment-for-nonreligious-people|author=Darrel Ray|publisher=American Atheists|title=Twelve Step Programs Are Not a Legitimate Treatment for Nonreligious People}} and lawsuits have challenged court-mandated participation in twelve-step programs even after the formal adoption of "Higher Power" language.{{cite web|url=https://oasas.ny.gov/impact-federal-court-decision-concerning-alcoholics-anonymous |title=Impact of Federal Court Decision Concerning Alcoholics Anonymous |publisher=New York Office of Addiction Services and Supports |date=November 3, 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-news/2023/12/born-against-freedom-from-religion-foundation-pushes-for-alternative-to-court-mandated-aa-meetings/ |title=Born Against: Freedom from Religion Foundation pushes for alternative to court-mandated AA meetings| author=Brett Dunlap |date=Dec 21, 2023|publisher=The Parkersburg News & Sentinel}} === Christian === [Celebrate Recovery](/source/Celebrate_Recovery) was founded by a group of Christians who criticized the higher power concept as being too vague. In their twelve-step-derived group, [Jesus](/source/Jesus) is the only higher power allowed.{{cite book|first=John |last=Baker |title=Celebrate Recovery: Leader's Guide |url=https://archive.org/details/growinginchristw00john |url-access=registration |publisher=Zondervan Publishing House |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-310-22108-1}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nacronline.com/wordpress/67/god-as-we-understood-him-too-christian-or-not-christian-enough|title=God as We Understood Him : Too Christian or Not Christian Enough?|last=Ryan|first=Dale|access-date=2008-07-14|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427100651/http://www.nacronline.com/wordpress/67/god-as-we-understood-him-too-christian-or-not-christian-enough|archive-date=2016-04-27}} == In popular culture == * The children's novel ''[The Higher Power of Lucky](/source/The_Higher_Power_of_Lucky)'', which received the [Newbery Medal](/source/Newbery_Medal) in 2007, is a story of a child who follows the direction of her higher power, a concept she learned from a twelve-step group. * Rock group [Boston](/source/Boston_(band)) recorded a song called "Higher Power" about drug addiction that was included on their ''[Greatest Hits](/source/Greatest_Hits_(Boston_album))'' album. * [President of the United States](/source/President_of_the_United_States) [George W. Bush](/source/George_W._Bush)'s opening remarks at a conference in June 2008 included the remark: "There has to be a higher power."{{cite web|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/government/fbci/|title=Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives National Conference |last=Bush|first=George W.|date=2008-06-26 |publisher=The White House, Washington|access-date=2008-08-10}} * In a [WWE](/source/WWE) storyline, [The Undertaker](/source/The_Undertaker) claimed to follow a "higher power" which was ultimately revealed to be [Vince McMahon](/source/Vince_McMahon). == See also == * [Addiction recovery groups](/source/Addiction_recovery_groups) * [Jim Burwell](/source/Jim_Burwell) * [List of twelve-step groups](/source/List_of_twelve-step_groups) * [Self-help groups for mental health](/source/Self-help_groups_for_mental_health) == References == {{reflist|30em}} == Further reading == * {{cite journal |author=Green, L. L., Fullilove, M. T., & Fullilove, R. E. |date=1998 |title=Stories of spiritual awakening: The nature of spirituality in recovery |journal=Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=325–331 |doi=10.1016/S0740-5472(97)00211-0 |pmid=9650141|last2=Fullilove |last3=Fullilove |doi-access=free }} {{Alcoholics Anonymous}} Category:Drug rehabilitation Category:Twelve-step programs Category:Support groups Category:Alcoholics Anonymous --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Higher Power](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Power) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Power?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.