Curing Addiction 12-14-25

Belief, Behavior, and Belonging: How Faith is Indispensable in Preventing and Recovering from Substance Abuse 

This study reviews the voluminous empirical evidence on faith’s contribution to preventing people from falling victim to substance abuse and helping them recover from it. We find that 73% of addiction treatment programs in the USA include a spirituality-based element, as embodied in the 12-step programs and fellowships initially popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous, the vast majority of which emphasize reliance on God or a Higher Power to stay sober. We introduce and flesh out a typology of faith-based substance abuse treatment facilities, recovery programs, and support groups. This typology provides important background as we then move on to make an economic valuation of nearly 130,000 congregation-based substance abuse recovery support programs in the USA. We find that these faith-based volunteer support groups contribute up to $316.6 billion in savings to the US economy every year at no cost to tax payers.

More than 84% of scientific studies show that faith is a positive factor in addiction prevention or recovery and a risk in less than 2% of the studies reviewed, we conclude that the value of faith-oriented approaches to substance abuse prevention and recovery is indisputable. And, by extension, we also conclude that the decline in religious affiliation in the USA is not only a concern for religious organizations but constitutes a national health concern.

Keywords: Substance abuse, Addiction, Faith, Valuation, Religion and spirituality

Introduction

America is in the midst of an acute alcohol and drug addiction crisis. Life-saving medicines and psychological interventions are important components of rescue and recovery. Along with the body and the mind, the spirit is also a central part of the continuum of addiction health care. Based on our review of extensive evidence-based research on addiction that follows, it is clear that religion and spirituality—which we refer to collectively as faith—are exceptionally powerful, integral, and indispensable resources in substance abuse prevention and recovery. This body of research shows that the efficacy of faith includes not only the behaviors people engage in (or don’t engage in) because of their faith and the support people find in belonging to faith communities, but also people’s religious and spiritual beliefs themselves.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6759672/

Comments

When Families are facing addiction problems in their ranks, it usually takes “hitting bottom” and “asking for God’s help” to rehabilitate the patient.  Recovery always requires the addict to make the decision to recover.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader