Book Reviewed: Storm, Jason Ananda Josephson, The Myth of Disenchantment: Magic, Modernity, and the Birth of the Human Sciences (University of Chicago Press, 2017).
Journal of Christian Teaching Practice, Volume 12, 2025 (January – December)
Reviewed By: David Dockery, Assistant Professor, William Carey University
Reviewer Affiliation: William Carey University
Total Pages: 400
ISBN-13: 978-0226403366
Students of religion are familiar with a certain narrative about the history of religion in the North Atlantic world, referred to as the disenchantment thesis. It goes something like this: Once upon a time, people overwhelmingly believed that the world was full of supernatural phenomena—gods, spirits, demons, miracles, and so forth. Then the rise of modern science destroyed the credibility of these beliefs. Science banished the supernatural and ushered in a milieu in which the only intellectually respectable position is materialism. Various protagonists in this narrative include figures such as Francis Bacon, Hegel, Freud, Weber, Adorno, and many others. The supernatural’s gradual disappearance under the onslaught of secular modernity is widely assumed in both academia and public discourse about religion.
Storm’s argument in The Myth of Disenchantment is that, contrary to common claims, the West has never been disenchanted. Then as now, belief in the supernatural, paranormal, and other synonyms for enchantment have played an important role in the West. Not only is enchantment common in popular culture, but it in fact is also a significant influence in Western intellectual life. The very names cited as destroyers of premodernity were believers in magic, ESP, ghosts, and other forms of enchantment. The Vienna Circle, renowned for the seemingly materialist philosophy of logical positivism, contained prominent paranormal investigators. Sigmund Freud was a believer in extrasensory perception. Francis Bacon’s project was not at all about the removal of the supernatural from the world, but a project reconciling Christianity with the practice of magic. Both the philosopher and the common person sat at the séance table.
Despite the widespread belief in enchantment, there also persists a widely-held belief that enchantment has disappeared from the cosmos. This raises an important question: Why? Storm proposes that the reason the myth of disenchantment persists is its importance in the larger paradigm of modernity. By portraying it as disenchanted, Western theorists of modernity could justify domination of more overtly enchanted cultures on account of Europeans’ alleged superiority to the “savages” of indigenous cultures, who cling to their outdated beliefs in totems and spirits. In so doing, they could conveniently overlook the countless tarot card readers, psychics, and ghost hunters in their own ranks. The myth of disenchantment thereby holds onto its power as a Foucauldian “regime of truth.” It divides legitimate knowledge from ignorance. At the same time, critics of the modern world can find a use for the myth by claiming they are renewing the lost enchantment of the cosmos. Thus, the myth of disenchantment shambles along, the mysterious force driving the zombie of modernity.
To demonstrate his thesis, Storm engages in a remarkably thorough Foucauldian “archaeology of knowledge.” It would have been interesting enough to argue this thesis through demographic surveys, but the author takes the more illuminating approach of diving into the seminal texts of the humanities. He takes the reader on a journey through intellectual history from Bacon to Weber. In the process, he shows how the foundational theorists of modernity were influenced by enchanted beliefs, and how those beliefs interacted with their systems of thought. His project shows that the supposed champions of disenchantment were interested in nothing of the sort.
For all its revolutionary insight, the work is not without its flaws. Storm’s postmodern critique of the myth raises questions about how we are supposed to formulate good alternatives. Wouldn’t abandoning the myth of disenchantment also be merely an extension of the myth’s influence? Beyond this theoretical concern, it would have been nice to see some more work establishing popular belief in enchantment outside the academy. The book does discuss this but in not nearly the same depth as the views of theorists. Nonetheless, these limitations do not change the fact that Storm’s work is profoundly illuminating.
The Myth of Disenchantment is essential reading for scholars of religious communication. It is essential for students of religious communication, as well. From lectures to classroom discussions to research projects, we should consider the importance of challenging the assumption of a disenchanted world. For instance, a student who wishes to write a rhetorical critique of Freud’s Future of an Illusion must grapple with his interest in ESP, not merely write him off as an anti-spiritualist. Storm’s book would therefore fit well in upper level courses on religious communication, particularly if the professor wishes to discuss religion in the public sphere. I especially recommend it for graduate students. It should be on the comprehensive exams of every student with an interest in critical theory, religion, rhetoric, religious media, and similar subjects.
Christians especially should take an interest in this work. It has become something of a trope in Christian intellectual circles to frame the academy as a factory for atheists. Going to college, parents are sometimes told, means exposing your children to the views of hardcore materialists like Nietzsche. Consequently, well-meaning Christians have spilled much ink composing arguments against materialism, fearing the disenchantment of future generations. But this, too, is a product of the myth of disenchantment. If Storm is right, Christian scholars should concern themselves less with disenchantment and more with the alternative forms of enchantment available today: the wide range of beliefs that embrace the reality of a world full of spirits, paranormal phenomena, psychic powers, and so on. These alternative enchantments can be completely non-Christian, as in the occult or some heretical or misguided form of Christianity. Indeed, false enchantment is particularly threatening in Christian communities that have de-prioritized scriptural discernment, rendering them vulnerable to the manipulations of false teachers. Either way, they threaten to divert people from the true path of Christian discipleship by warping their understanding of the world. Arguments against materialism qua materialism do little to sway the student dabbling in magic, or even those whose worldview is tainted with the occult. Students of the enchanted persuasion already know there is more to the world than what they see. The question is, what truly lies behind the veil? Sound Christian doctrine and the discernment to apply it holds the answer to that question. However, there is no shortage of false alternatives lining up to distract students.
Part of faith integration in Christian universities should focus on seeing through these false enchantments. In that task, The Myth of Disenchantment may prove a useful place to begin the conversation. It can help awaken scholars from the mistaken idea that the primary enemy is materialist ideology in the vein of New Atheism. So much has been written addressing the claims of thinkers like Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett that it is easy to forget how relatively rare their beliefs are. Indeed, the Bible itself does not spend much time addressing pure atheism. The arc of Scripture is God defeating Satan, not God awakening people to the existence of the supernatural. As important as it is to counter the influence of materialism, it is equally important to remember the supernatural reality that strives to divert students from the worship of God.
Finally, Christian scholars should consider building upon The Myth of Disenchantment’s findings. Storm’s work has opened up space for entire research projects devoted to understanding the hidden spiritualities at work in our culture. Communication scholars are especially well-suited to identifying these through techniques like rhetorical criticism, in-depth interviews, and quantitative survey research. Perhaps Christian media scholars can draw interesting conclusions from the rise of artificial intelligence. Is there a sense in which AI can serve as an enchanting technology? Many scholars are already doing work like this, of course. However, The Myth of Disenchantment is a rallying cry to continue the work of unmasking the hidden spiritualties animating culture. It invites Christian scholars to think of their work beyond the Christianity-Materialism binary and recognize the multifaceted nature of teaching in today’s world. For these reasons, Jason Ananda Josephson Storm’s The Myth of Disenchantment belongs on the shelf of every Christian communication educator.