Sounds rude, but it's quite in place in church (4)
I believe the answer is:
rood
'it's quite in place in church' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'sounds rude' is the wordplay.
'sounds' shows a homophone (sound like).
'rude' sounds like 'ROOD'.
'but' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for rood that I've seen before include "Old land measure of quarter of an acre" , "Crucifix in entrance, set back" , "Pole, perch or crucifix" , "The Holy . . . . was the Cross of Christ" , "Old land measure and large cross in a church" .)