Complex sentence: Acceptability was determined not by the gods but by the political-religious elite, the final arbiters of Roman values and morality; their anxiety over what was being introduced, and why, was one was among the most consistent features cult adoption.
Split into simpler sentences: Acceptability was determined not by the gods but by the political-religious elite, the final arbiters of Roman values and morality. The elite's anxiety over what was being introduced, and why, was one was among the most consistent features cult adoption.