In the category of "myth", he includes many legendary accounts that are "secular" for all practical purposes.[16] 1997: Folklorists define a myth as "a sacred narrative explaining how the world and humankind came to be in their present form".[17] 2004: In religious studies, the word "myth" is usually reserved for stories whose main characters are gods or demigods.[18] 2004: The classicist Richard Buxton defines a myth as "a socially powerful traditional story".[19] 2004: Robert A. Segal, professor of theories of religion at the Lancaster University, defines "myth" broadly as any story whose "main figures [are] personalities -- divine, human, or even animal.