In certain churches, people "cross" themselves by touching their forehead, breast, and then each shoulder to make a symbolic cross when performing religious ceremonies or thanking themselves or others. Some believe that the sign of the cross is beneficial in warding off bad spirits and protecting believers in general from harm. Others claim that it has no special meaning other than as a gesture of respect. The practice of touching the cross first arose in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. There are two reasons why this is so. The first is that in some cultures (not only Eastern Orthodox culture), people would normally make an image of a person they were praying for and place it beside them while praying. Since making the sign of the cross with a hand represents taking on human form, this was thought to be inappropriate unless someone was touched first. The second reason is that in Latin-based Christian traditions (such as those found in most of Europe), it is customary to touch one's chest before saying any words of prayer. As we will see later, this too came from ancient customs and not necessarily from Orthodox theology. Today, in addition to being used in Orthodox churches, people will often touch the cross when entering or leaving Catholic churches. They do this to show respect to the cross and avoid stepping on it while walking across the floorboards. People also touch the cross when beginning or ending prayers at Jewish services.