Kirk A. Bingaman PhD
Bio
Kirk Bingaman is Professor in the Psychological & Educational Services Division (PES) of the Graduate School of Education (GSE) at Fordham University. He is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) in New York, maintaining a regular counseling/ psychotherapy practice. Before joining the GSE, Dr. Bingaman was a professor in the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education (GRE) at Fordham, serving for 20 years in the Mental Health Counseling/Spiritual Integration and Pastoral Care MA programs. He is a former chair of the Psychology, Culture, and Religion (PCR) group of the American Academy of Religion (AAR), and in 2021 was appointed Editor-in-Chief of Pastoral Psychology (Springer Nature), one of the most well-established academic journals in the field of psychology and religion/spirituality. While on a faculty fellowship in 2022, Dr. Bingaman was a visiting scholar at (1) the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences in Milan, Italy and (2) the Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education, and Applied Psychology (FISPPA) at the University of Padua, Italy. In 2023, he received a Faculty Research Abroad (FRAP) award from Fordham, working with the psychology faculty of Ateneo De Manila University in the Philippines. Current collaborative research projects with Ateneo faculty include “Exploring the Relationship Between Social Media Use and Well-being, with Religious/Spiritual Coping and Mindfulness as Possible Mediators;” and “Emerging Representations of God from Faith Struggles and the Impact on Well-being.”
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Dr. Bingaman is the author of numerous articles and book chapters, as well as several books, including Freud and Faith: Living in the Tension (SUNY, 2003), Treating the New Anxiety: A Cognitive-Theological Approach (Jason Aronson, 2007), and The Power of Neuroplasticity for Pastoral and Spiritual Care (Lexington Books, 2014), the latter focusing on the application of neuroscientific findings to the practice of spiritual care and mental health counseling. More recently, in Pastoral and Spiritual Care in a Digital Age: The Future Is Now (Lexington Books, 2018), Dr. Bingaman explores the rapid advance of AI and the psychological and spiritual significance of living in a techno-driven world. He extended this line of research by contributing a chapter to the book, Digital and Spatial Studies of Religions (MDPI, 2023): “Religion in the Digital Age: An Irreversible Process,” which focuses on the irreversible nature of the digital revolution and with it the increasing trend of religious disaffiliation/unaffiliation, as well as the double-edged nature of social media. In 2025, Dr. Bingaman has given three keynote presentations on the impact of the digital revolution, at the Psychotherapy and Faith Conference in Houston, the Positive Psychology 2.0 International Conference in Hong Kong, and the International Association of Spiritual Care Conference in Chicago.
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Dr. Bingaman practices contemplative meditation daily, and is also an avid hiker and trekker. He has done several multi-week treks in the Himalayan region of Nepal, including the Mt. Everest High Passes trek, and in 2025 while in China the Himalayan region of Tibet.
Education
2000
PhD, Psychology and Religion, Graduate Theological Union (GTU), Berkeley, CA.
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1990
MDiv, Historical Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ.
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1987
BA, Religious Education, Messiah College, Grantham, PA.
Research
The application of neuroscientific research to pastoral/spiritual care, pastoral mental health counseling, and psychotherapy, in particular the finding that activity in the stress region of the brain can be lowered over time through regular contemplative-meditational practice. Additionally, a focus on the impact of digital technologies (including social media) and artificial intelligence (AI) on human development and human nature, and the implications for pastoral care and counseling.
Publications
Dr. Bingaman is the author of several books, including Freud and Faith: Living in the Tension (SUNY Press, 2003) and Treating the New Anxiety: A Cognitive-Theological Approach (Jason Aronson, 2007). His current research focuses on the application of neuroscientific findings to the practice of pastoral/spiritual care and pastoral mental health counseling, which is the focus of his 2014 book, The Power of Neuroplasticity for Pastoral and Spiritual Care (Lexington Books). Dr. Bingaman’s 2018 book, Pastoral and Spiritual Care in a Digital Age: The Future Is Now (Lexington Books), explores the present and potential future impact of digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI) on human development and human spirituality, and the implications for pastoral/spiritual care providers, clinical practitioners, and religious faith communities. While on Faculty Fellowship in 2022, Dr. Bingaman published two peer-reviewed journal articles: (1) “The end of the world as we have known it? An introduction to Collapsology" (Pastoral Psychology Special Issue, December 2022), which explores the psychological and spiritual significance of the current climate emergency; and (2) “Religion in the digital age: An irreversible process” (Religions Special Issue, January 2023), which focuses on the irreversible nature of the digital revolution, and with it the increasing trend of religious disaffiliation, as well as the double-edged nature of social media.