How did Christian critics connect Spiritualism with witchcraft and necromancy?

Christian critics frequently opposed Spiritualism by associating its practices with witchcraft and necromancy, viewing the movement’s attempts to communicate with the dead as forbidden activities.12

Church leaders and institutions, including the Roman Catholic Church, launched propaganda campaigns that branded spiritualistic practices as unsavory, often labeling them as forms of black magic or devil worship. This opposition was rooted in the theological view that seeking insight from the dead—a practice historically defined as necromancy—was a spiritual transgression.123

Beyond verbal condemnations, this religious hostility manifested in more tangible ways. In Europe, witchcraft laws were historically utilized to prosecute mediums, a practice that persisted in Britain until the 1950s. Both Protestant and Catholic bodies contributed to a steady stream of anti-spiritualist literature, framing the movement as a dangerous departure from traditional faith and a violation of divine boundaries regarding the afterlife.12