Religion vs Addiction

[Griff]

David Brooks references Brendan I. Koerner in an interesting piece on addiction and religion.

In writing the steps, Wilson drew on the Oxford Group’s precepts and borrowed heavily from William James’ classic The Varieties of Religious Experience, which Wilson read shortly after his belladonna-fueled revelation at Towns Hospital. He was deeply affected by an observation that James made regarding alcoholism: that the only cure for the affliction is “religiomania.” The steps were thus designed to induce an intense commitment, because Wilson wanted his system to be every bit as habit-forming as booze.

I attribute part of my alcohol problem to my minds incompatibility with the religion I was raised in. Everything had to be labeled as good or bad. Some pretty fundamental human urges had to be suppressed or confessed. The Church's internal contradictions became impossible to reconcile. I gave up the booze and the Church at about the same time. My personality is such that I am always over or under-involved. I commit to things until I see all them blemishes and then I blow them up. I am trying to train myself not to be that way and I don't know if I'll succeed, but as a person with alcohol issues the absolute last thing I need is to be addicted to religion.