Why do most sobriety programs seem to be structured around

That's what messes people up. The fact that they get twisted up on the GOD word. Fact is everytime people read God and struggle with it. Just substitute it for higher power or whatever it is that you look to. It's structured around living a good life and doing the next right thing. Just so happens that sometimes aligns with religious beliefs. Religion was here before AA. Find peace in the fact that AA is not religious it cherrypicked the good things and put them in a book for all to understand if they choose to