12 step treatment for alcohol and drug addictions

OK 12 step treatment for alcohol and drug addictions. I would like to hear what peoples opinions are on this, from people with personal experience with it, possibly being themselves, a family member,or a friend, to people with no experience with it, maybe just from what you might have heard. Do you feel that it is a positive treatment for people struggling with addiction, does it work, could it possibly be harmfully, are there better ways for a person to overcome an addiction, in what ways do you feel a person should try to overcome an addiction. Do you feel addiction is a disease like the 12 treatment industry suggest? I would like to hear intelligent opinion from people whatever your stance might be on this issue. What I don't want to hear is stupid things like "rehab is for quitters" or other such nonsense. I have my own opinions on this that I will hold back on until I get some feedback from other people so as to not persuade or discourage anyone's opinions

The only thing I know is that so many of these rehab centers use religion to create a bunch of very stressed out addicts who become fanatical about Jesus in attempts to overcome physical and mental addiction.

At least that has been my experience with three people so far.

I feel that treatment in general for addictions really depends on the facility and the staff and their training and techniques, but that in general if you're addicted to some substance to the point where it is drastically interfering with your life then it is time to seek help. I just don't think religion should play a part in it (or in anything else except for.... religion! How novel.)

I don't like the religion approach because it seems to just create a lot of fanaticism and hysteria in this person trying to be reformed and a lot of stress and disagreement with them and their family/friends. I understand the need to completely remove someone from the environment that bred their addiction, but there has to be a better way than simply saying it's a sin and creating a reformed monster.

The people I have seen have the best outcome with 12 step programs are not the people who became so much involved in literal religion. It's the ones who make a religion out of their program. I used to know people in COPAC and AA who treated those programs as if they were religions, and those are the only serious drug addicts I have ever seen stay sober. I never heard them talking about Jesus or Allah. I just heard a bunch of, "Completed the steps... my sponsor... I'm not supposed to that.... go to a meeting..." I saw one of them start balling one time because she went against one of the rules. The stuff works on those people.