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Guest: Felipe Zurita Quintana
CHARTER FOR COMPASSION
© Janus Adams LLC 2026
From “Praying the Gay Away” to "The Day the Missionary Stopped Believing" to Radical Compassion. In this wide-ranging conversation, Janus Adams speaks with Felipe Zurita Quintana, Marketing Director of Charter for Compassion, about his journey from a conservative environment in Chile to deep immersion in Mormonism, coming out as queer, leaving the church, and dedicating his life to the work of compassion. Together, they explore how religion can both wound and heal, what it takes to reclaim one’s spiritual and moral agency, and why compassion—starting with self‑compassion—may be one of the most radical tools we have in today’s fractured world.
FOR MORE INFORMATION about my guest, visit:
Charter for Compassion
Events: Global Reads, 40 Days of Peace, The E.A.R.T.H. Series
MAJOR THEMES
- Identity, shame, and self‑acceptance
- Religion as control vs. religion as liberation.
- Family, community, and the cost of leaving one's religion behind.
- The meaning and practice of compassion.
- Reimagining power and responsibility in difficult times.
MOMENTS YOU'LL WANT TO EXPERIENCE FOR YOURSELF
"Why am I living up to the standards of people that don’t know me?”
— Felipe, as a young Mormon missionary assigned to California during California’s Prop 8 describes realizing that his own church is organizing against his right to exist.
“Your Christ is not my Jesus.”
— Janus connects Felipe’s story to the Black church tradition, Negro Bibles, and how enslaved Africans and their descendants distinguished between their oppressors' religion and their own liberating faith.
"Sympathy → Empathy → Compassion (as action)"
— Felipe walks listeners through seeing someone in pain, feeling with them, and then deciding, “I need to do something”—his core definition of compassion.
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Tags: @FelipeZuritaQuintana @CharterForCompassion @KarenArmstrong @compassion #self-compassion #goldenrule #ubuntu #Wisdom #Mormonism #ex-mormon #chile #spirituality #queerspirituality #LGBTQ+ #LatinX #immigration #millennial #BlackChurch #interfaith #socialjustice #mentalhealth #humanrights #hope #race #courage #usa #npr #publicradio #wjffradio #podcast #JanusAdamsShow
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