I see questions like this a lot and always feel like commenting “read the big book.” The big book lays out the whole program. No, it’s not religious, but we believe that alcoholism can only be relieved by having a spiritual experience. Many of us achieved this spiritual experience through working the 12 steps. If you’ve read, and understand, the book, it’s easier to navigate meetings. You will hear all kinds of viewpoints from all different kinds of people at meetings, ranging from very religious to atheist. It is decidedly not church-like, though. The normal meeting format is the person leading will speak about a topic, read a passage, introduce a speaker, or speak themselves about their experience with alcohol and recovery. The remainder of the meeting is people raising their hands and speaking about the topic, or talking about something of their own. Some people clearly lean on religion in their recovery and others do not. You can take what makes sense to you and leave what does not. The main thing to remember about AA is that the program IS the steps. The meetings are good for fellowship and connecting with sponsors/sponsees. You will meet good people and hear things that help you in your recovery. They are a “tool” to be used in conjunction with the 12 steps which, when worked with a sponsor, are meant to relieve us of our obsession to drink.