Dr. Daryl R. Van Tongeren is an award-winning social psychologist, currently a Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Frost Center for Social Science Research at Hope College. He has pioneered ground-breaking research in existential psychology and the psychology of religion, focusing on the role of existential meaning-making amid changes to deeply held beliefs and launching a new field of empirical inquiry on religious deidentification.

He was won numerous awards for his research, including being named an Association for Psychological Science (APS) Rising Star, and earning the Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality Margaret Gorman Early Career Award and the Early Career Award from the International Society for the Science of Existential Psychology (ISSEP). He has earned Fellow status at several prestigious professional organizations, including APS, SPSP, and SESP.

He has more than 275 scientific publications, including six books (and two more under contract), and his work has been supported by more than $15M in external grant funding. His work has been highlighted on Hidden Brain, the New York Times, the BBC, The Atlantic, and many other media outlets and podcasts. He is an associate editor at The Journal of Positive Psychology and a consulting editor at Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.

He enjoys running, biking, cooking, reading, and hiking the dunes of Lake Michigan.