Storm
ThrUU the Looking Glass
The discussion of 12 Step programs here got me thinking about how the courts often require them, and whether this is a violation of the Establishment Clause.
For those who are unfamiliar, I googled "12 steps," and this version is from the first site listed, 12Step.org:
Step 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable
Step 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
Step 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God
Step 4 - Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
Step 5 - Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
Step 6 - Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
Step 7 - Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings
Step 8 - Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all
Step 9 - Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others
Step 10 - Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
Step 11 - Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out
Step 12 - Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs
Now, I must point out that this version of the steps is much more blatantly religious than many I have heard, but it serves to emphasize my point.
The courts often require that offenders attend AA or NA as part of their sentencing. Is this unconstitutional? The steps may not be specific to any one religion, but they definitely encourage some sort of belief.
Your thoughts?
For those who are unfamiliar, I googled "12 steps," and this version is from the first site listed, 12Step.org:
Step 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable
Step 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
Step 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God
Step 4 - Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
Step 5 - Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
Step 6 - Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
Step 7 - Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings
Step 8 - Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all
Step 9 - Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others
Step 10 - Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
Step 11 - Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out
Step 12 - Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs
Now, I must point out that this version of the steps is much more blatantly religious than many I have heard, but it serves to emphasize my point.
The courts often require that offenders attend AA or NA as part of their sentencing. Is this unconstitutional? The steps may not be specific to any one religion, but they definitely encourage some sort of belief.
Your thoughts?