Storm's research focuses on Japanese religions, European intellectual history from 1600 to the present, and theory in religious studies.
[10]: 133 The book also examined the confluence of Japanese religious thought, political theory, science, and philology in movements such as the Kokugaku.
For instance, the ideas of hierarchical inclusion and exclusive similarity, which Storm coined to describe Japanese methods of conceiving religious difference,[10]: 24–39 have been applied in research on South Asian religions.
The book argues that social-scientific data do not support the idea of a widespread loss of belief in magic in the West.[3]: ch.
1 The book distinguishes between secularization and disenchantment as theoretical and sociological phenomena and argues that they have not been correlated in European history.
The book argued that many of these thinkers, including Max Weber, James George Frazer, and Sigmund Freud, engaged with mysticism and the occult.
In The Myth of Disenchantment and other academic articles, Storm also argued for a close connection between Western esotericism and the origin of religious studies as a discipline.[15][3]: ch.
4 Around the time of The Myth of Disenchantment's publication, Storm discussed the thesis and main arguments of the book in articles for aeon.co and The Immanent Frame as well as through interviews with magazines and podcasts.
Building on ideas in his 2012 book, Storm has developed a trinaristic approach to examining the relationship between secularism, superstition, and religion that he argues is applicable more generally.
The Myth of Disenchantment has been favorably reviewed in several academic publications, including Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft,[22] Fides et Historia,[23] and the Journal of the American Academy of Religion.
A 2019 doctoral dissertation has engaged extensively with the arguments in The Myth of Disenchantment, recognizing their significance but seeking to more deeply examine the connection between enchantment and European colonialism.
[34][35] Writing for Religious Studies Review, philosopher of religion, Kevin Schilbrack referred to it as "a powerhouse intervention in theorizing in the human sciences.