The sensible request of ACIM's teachings can also be a place of contention. Although some people record good transformations and personal development from following the program, the others find the practices to be useless as well as harmful. The course's increased exposure of forgiveness and enjoy is exceptional, but critics fight that it can be excessively basic and naïve, declining to deal with the difficulties of human associations and the requirement for boundaries and accountability. Furthermore, the course's length and extensive character can be frustrating for some people, ultimately causing burnout or disillusionment. Critics suggest that enough time and energy expected to accomplish ACIM might be better spent on more empirically supported therapeutic methods or spiritual professions that have an established history of effectiveness.

The broader influence of ACIM on the spiritual and self-help neighborhoods can also be value considering. The course has influenced a substantial subsequent and has been integrated into various New Age and religious movements. However, their impact is visible as david hoffmeister  a double-edged sword. On one give, it has offered a structure for individuals seeking spiritual growth and internal peace. On one other give, their teachings may subscribe to a culture of religious bypassing, where people use spiritual ideas in order to avoid dealing with personal and social issues. This will result in a questionnaire of escapism, where the concentrate on religious values distracts from the necessity of participating with and addressing real-world challenges.

Furthermore, the professional accomplishment of ACIM and its related components increases ethical concerns. The expansion of workshops, books, and seminars based on ACIM is seen as capitalizing on individuals' spiritual needs and vulnerabilities. Experts disagree that the commercialization of spirituality can lead to the exploitation of seekers, who might invest substantial time and money in to methods that ultimately do not deliver on their promises. That commercialization can also subscribe to the dilution of the course's teachings, as different interpretations and changes proliferate, probably ultimately causing frustration and misapplication of the principles.

Another critical part to take into account may be the exclusivity and dogmatism that will often accompany the ACIM community. As the class it self stimulates general love and forgiveness, the way it is taught and practiced by some adherents can lead to a sense of spiritual elitism. This will produce an "people versus them" mindset, wherever people who follow ACIM are regarded as enlightened, while those that do not are seen as misguided or unenlightened. Such attitudes may be divisive and detrimental to the course's proposed targets of peace and unity. Experts argue that true religious development should foster inclusivity and humility, rather than creating a hierarchical distinction involving the spiritually awakened and the unawakened.