"Secularity" in The Lord of the Rings and the Book of Esther

The fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings (LOTR), written by J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), is one of the most popular works of literature even written. One of things that makes the trilogy so powerful is that in it Tolkien creates an entire world, with its own history, geography, ethnic groups, and languages. Tolkien even developed a creation story for his imagined world--Middle Earth--although that…