“My outlook comes from my certainty that some minds are susceptible to the seeking of such compulsions, and my certainty that some other minds are susceptible to a need to supply such compulsions, sometimes as themselves as the authority, and sometimes as representatives of higher authority.”
This sentence is wordy indeed, but it seems to express a specific thought that is not expressed with as much clarity in your version. Prior to that sentence she/he is first admitting that his/her own certainty is the only foundation the reader shall receive, and she admits that the following shall denote no more or less than the limits of his/her imagination. Then she/he references the previous sentence as example of a type of compulsion that may or may not have a religious component, though I understand why you combined the given examples into religion. .
“My outlook comes from my certainty that some minds are susceptible to the seeking of such compulsions, and my certainty that some other minds are susceptible to a need to supply such compulsions, sometimes as themselves as the authority, and sometimes as representatives of higher authority.”
This sentence is wordy indeed, but it seems to express a specific thought that is not expressed with as much clarity in your version. Prior to that sentence she/he is first admitting that his/her own certainty is the only foundation the reader shall receive, and she admits that the following shall denote no more or less than the limits of his/her imagination. Then she/he references the previous sentence as example of a type of compulsion that may or may not have a religious component, though I understand why you combined the given examples into religion. .