The Serenity Prayer: Secularism and Spirituality in Gamblers Anonymous

Gamblers Anonymous (GA) has long been described in the scientific literature as more secular in orientation than similar 12-step fellowships such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Through interviews and meeting observations during the course of two studies (beginning in 2003), we found this reputation well earned, with GA putting considerably less emphasis on the “12 steps” themselves. The latter is a spiritual process designed to facilitate and enhance recovery from addictive behaviors and lifestyles. Instead, GA favors an arguably pragmatic emphasis on abstinence from gambling and tasks such as dealing with debts. Yet much of the available literature is nonetheless dated. We also found that GA has become more spiritual in orientation during the last two decades. In this article, we explore the uneasy tension between secularism and spirituality in GA, with special attention to the role played by the Serenity Prayer in this fellowship. The prayer invokes God yet is favored even by the most ardently secular GA memb...