A kind of priest?

From Pure by Andrew Miller .  A fictional view of engineering in the 1780's.  The path from priest to nerd or geek is very nonlinear.

He nods, almost smiles.
She says, "You can read."
"I'm an engineer," he says.  "You know what that is?"
"A kind of priest?"
"We build things.  Structures."
"Like a wall?"
"Like a bridge."