In the 20th century, many scholars have resisted this trend, defending myth from modern criticism.[29] Mircea Eliade, a professor of the history of religions, declared that myth did not hold religion back, that myth was an essential foundation of religion, and that eliminating myth would eliminate a piece of the human psyche.[30] Eliade approached myth sympathetically at a time when religious thinkers were trying to purge religion of its mythological elements:[3]