What are the motifs in Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich?

God and religion are recurring ideas. Erdrich's Catholic upbringing is reflected in Marie's stories. As a young girl, Marie (Saint Marie) aspires to rise to the stature of the nuns who live in the convent on the hill. She feels that she is as good as they are. "They were not any lighter than me. I was going up there to pray as good as they could. Because I don't have that much Indian blood."