Whether it's helpful or not is not the point. I know it to be both helpful and harmful. The point is people should not be forced into religious programs by gov't. What if you'd been forced "kicking and screaming" into a mosque to pray on your knees to Allah 5X/day because millions find that effective? AA's is a Christian context; see Dr.'s Silkworth and Tiebout making that clear in AA Comes of Age 304-324. Public safety should focus on crime prevention (more severe laws to deter DUI), not religious programming under the guise of rehabilitation.