# Faith and Doubt in The Necromancers

> Theme guide for The Necromancers by Robert Hugh Benson.

Laurie's journey from Catholic convert to Spiritualist inquirer illustrates a crisis of faith, where sensory evidence and personal experience challenge doctrinal belief and create inner conflict.

## Where it surfaces

- [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_necromancers_se/chapters/i): Laurie's conversion to Catholicism and his subsequent drifting from religious practice are discussed, showing his spiritual uncertainty.
- [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_necromancers_se/chapters/iii): Laurie's skepticism and desire for proof contrast with Mrs. Stapleton's fervent belief, highlighting the tension between doubt and the need for certainty.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_necromancers_se/chapters/i): Laurie struggles with his faith and the possibility of supernatural phenomena, torn between his religious beliefs and his desire to believe.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_necromancers_se/chapters/ii): Mrs. Baxter worries about Laurie's spiritual state, and Maggie reflects on Laurie's conversion and his changing references to religion, highlighting tensions between faith and doubt.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_necromancers_se/chapters/i): Laurie's skepticism clashes with the possibility of spiritual truth, leading to inner conflict about what to believe.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_necromancers_se/chapters/ii): Maggie's questioning of the reality behind Spiritualism reflects her struggle between faith and uncertainty.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_necromancers_se/chapters/ii): Mrs. Baxter's absorption in religious meditations contrasts with Maggie's uncertainty about spiritualism, highlighting the theme of faith and doubt.
- [Epilogue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_necromancers_se/chapters/epilogue): Maggie expresses uncertainty about what she believes, oscillating between different theories and finding none fully convincing.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_necromancers_se/themes/faith_and_doubt
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_necromancers_se/themes