In the middle of the 19th century, Auguste Comte, the French positivist thinker and forefather of sociology, devised a new faith. His Religion of Humanity would channel the natural desire for worship towards scientific and humanist ends. There was no God, but to be human was divine. Comte described the liturgy in detail. Rather than crossing themselves, for example, congregants would tap themselves in three places on their heads, signifying love, order and progress.
