The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word EPISCOPALIAN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
E
P
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S
C
O
P
A
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More clues leading to the result EPISCOPALIAN
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Religious type" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case religious type = episcopalian.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does EPISCOPALIAN mean?
EPISCOPALIAN noun- Episcopalian
- Episcopal, pertaining to a bishop of any church
- Episcopalian