The useful application of ACIM's teachings can be a point of contention. While some persons record positive transformations and particular development from following a course, others find the practices to be useless as well as harmful. The course's focus on forgiveness and love is excellent, but experts argue that it may be excessively simplified and naïve, declining to handle the difficulties of human relationships and the need for limits and accountability. Moreover, the course's period and intense character may be overwhelming for some individuals, leading to burnout or disillusionment. Experts suggest that the full time and work expected to accomplish ACIM could possibly be better used on more empirically reinforced beneficial techniques or religious disciplines which have a proven background of effectiveness.

The broader affect of ACIM on the religious and self-help areas can be worth considering. The class has influenced a substantial subsequent and has been built-into various david hoffmeister New Age and spiritual movements. However, its influence can be seen as a double-edged sword. On one give, it's presented a construction for persons seeking religious growth and inner peace. On another give, its teachings can contribute to a tradition of spiritual skipping, wherever persons use spiritual ideas to avoid working with personal and social issues. This may cause a form of escapism, where the concentrate on spiritual attitudes distracts from the requisite of engaging with and approaching real-world challenges.

Furthermore, the commercial accomplishment of ACIM and its connected materials increases honest concerns. The proliferation of workshops, books, and seminars predicated on ACIM is visible as capitalizing on individuals' spiritual needs and vulnerabilities. Experts fight that the commercialization of spirituality can lead to the exploitation of seekers, who might invest significant time and income in to methods that finally don't produce on their promises. This commercialization also can contribute to the dilution of the course's teachings, as various understandings and changes proliferate, perhaps resulting in frustration and misapplication of the principles.

Still another important element to take into account may be the exclusivity and dogmatism that can sometimes accompany the ACIM community. While the class it self advances universal enjoy and forgiveness, the way it is shown and practiced by some adherents can cause a sense of spiritual elitism. This will develop an "us versus them" attitude, wherever those that follow ACIM are viewed as enlightened, while those that don't are considered as misguided or unenlightened. Such attitudes could be divisive and counterproductive to the course's purported objectives of peace and unity. Authorities disagree that true religious development must foster inclusivity and humility, rather than making a hierarchical variance between the spiritually awakened and the unawakened.