In 2011, a homeless man named Ted Williams who had been classically trained as a radio talent shared his “Golden Voice” with the world via a video that went viral on YouTube. It was clear that his talent was strong – but his alcohol addiction was far stronger. His sudden notoriety meant dozens of offers for work, but it was clear that without treatment, he would be unable to manage a career. In and out of treatment over the next few months, Williams, now dubbed the “Golden Voice” by popular media, famously fought off alcohol addiction and worked to create a career for himself in radio. But now he has a second career as well as an inspirational speaker to those who would like to learn from his amazing accomplishment in recovery. In one such speaking engagement, he reported that God was responsible for his ability to remain clean and sober – a concept that is hotly debated among those in the drug treatment community.

Does God Have a Say in Relapse?

There are two schools of thought when it comes to the role of spirituality in recovery. One school says that by giving up one’s control of addictive behaviors to God, the addicted person is relieved of the overwhelming responsibility of being in charge. Rather than attempting to control what happens, they instead focus on getting in touch with God and their spiritual side by serving others.

The other school of thought says that giving up control disallows the recovering addict the ability to take pride in his accomplishments and learn to become accountable for his actions. If the addicted person is not in control of what happens, then it may absolve them of any responsibility for relapse as well. Additionally, some say that inserting God too heavily into any rehabilitation program may also alienate those who do not have a foundation in spirituality and don’t connect with any version of God.

An Even Split

While hundreds of thousands of people in recovery say that they owe their sobriety to God and the role that spirituality played in the 12 steps and other traditional rehab programs, thousands more say that the atheist groups they attended were far more helpful and aided them in “growing up” and taking control of their lives in a way they never had before.

What do you think? Is God an important part of your recovery or your idea of recovery? How did spirituality play a role – or not play a role – in your treatment? Leave us a comment below and share your thoughts.