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The Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous

 

A.A.’s Twelve Traditions apply to the life of the Fellowship itself. They outline the means by which A.A. maintains its unity and relates itself to the world about it, the way it lives and grows.


Reprinted from Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p.15 with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

A Declaration of Unity
This we owe to A.A.’s future; to place our common welfare first, to keep our Fellowship united, for on A.A. unity depend our lives and the lives of those to come.
Reprinted from The A.A. Service Manual, inside front cover with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.

 

2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.

 

3. The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.

 

4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.

5. Each group has but one primary purpose-to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.

 

6. An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

 

7. Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

 

8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.

9. A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

 

10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

 

11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need
always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films.

 

12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

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