rrmoderator:
Quote
Please point me to a place where a well-known and credible cult expert has said "AA is a cult."
Would you please tell us your requirements for considering someone a "cult expert"?
Are there specific individuals whom you consider to be experts, and, if so, could you tell us what qualifications they have that make them experts?
I don't pretend to have the qualifications of an "expert", so I usually try to reserve judgement as to whether or not AA is a cult.
At times I have said I think it is, and I have said I think it is not.
The word cult seems to be a stumbling block to understanding the phenomena of the steps.
Use of the word has a tendency to stop the exchange of information and ideas.
Here are a few links to people who have labeled AA a cult:
Jeffrey Schaler
[
www.schaler.net]
Stanton Peele
[
www.peele.net]
Peele does not (here, or to my knowledge) actually call AA a cult, but Bufe does.
[
www.peele.net]
A very informative, albeit long, page about the disease model.
The problem seems to lie in one's definition of who is an "expert".
There have been many degreed people in various related fields who have called AA a "cult".
It is up to the interpretation of the reader to decide for themselves whether or not the "expert" is truly an "expert".
I tend to judge expertise in terms or education, experience, and professional reputation.