The Religion of Humanity focused the minds of a wide range of prominent Victorians on the possibility of replacing Christianity with an alternative religion based on scientific principles and humanist values.

1. The Birth of Positivism: Auguste Comte; 2. The Early Years: First British Followers; 3. Organised Postivism: Chapel Street and Newton Hall; 4. The Middle Years: a Matter of Controversy; 5. Literary Positivism: Novel Ideas; 6. The Final Years: Decline and Fall.