Every culture engages in mythopoeia, the process of coming up with shared stories to explain the mysteries of life and the universe and express important values. These stories are often about gods and made-up, legendary heroes.
Modern myths are different from ancient ones and may be hard to recognize. They often take the form of literature that helps us make sense of things. Mythopoeia is a style of storytelling that feels like traditional myth, but it's newly created. Think of fantasy works by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien even wrote a poem titled Mythopoeia, defending the idea of creative myth-making. The word comes from two Greek roots: mythos, meaning "story" or "myth," and poiein, "to make."