The useful request of ACIM's teachings can also be a place of contention. Though some people record good transformations and personal development from following the class, the others get the practices to be ineffective as well as harmful. The course's increased exposure of forgiveness and love is remarkable, but authorities fight that it can be excessively simplified and naïve, failing to deal with the difficulties of individual relationships and the requirement for limits and accountability. Additionally, the course's period and rigorous nature may be overwhelming for many people, resulting in burnout or disillusionment. Critics suggest that the time and work expected to perform ACIM could possibly be better spent on more empirically reinforced healing techniques or religious professions that have an established history of effectiveness.

The broader impact of ACIM on the religious and self-help communities can be price considering. The class has influenced a significant following and has been built-into different New Age and religious movements. david hoffmeister But, its effect is visible as a double-edged sword. On a single hand, it has presented a construction for persons seeking spiritual growth and internal peace. On another hand, their teachings may contribute to a tradition of religious bypassing, wherever individuals use religious methods to prevent working with particular and social issues. This will cause an application of escapism, where in actuality the focus on religious attitudes distracts from the requisite of interesting with and approaching real-world challenges.

Moreover, the professional success of ACIM and its related materials improves ethical concerns. The expansion of workshops, publications, and seminars centered on ACIM is visible as capitalizing on individuals' religious needs and vulnerabilities. Experts argue that the commercialization of spirituality can cause the exploitation of seekers, who might invest substantial time and income in to practices that finally don't produce on the promises. This commercialization also can subscribe to the dilution of the course's teachings, as numerous understandings and changes proliferate, potentially leading to frustration and misapplication of the principles.

Yet another critical part to take into account may be the exclusivity and dogmatism that will often accompany the ACIM community. While the program it self advances general love and forgiveness, the way it is taught and practiced by some adherents may lead to a feeling of spiritual elitism. This can produce an "us versus them" attitude, where people who follow ACIM are regarded as enlightened, while those that do not are seen as misguided or unenlightened. Such attitudes could be divisive and detrimental to the course's purported goals of peace and unity. Authorities fight that correct spiritual growth should foster inclusivity and humility, rather than creating a hierarchical variation between the spiritually awakened and the unawakened.