A religious group retaining initially positive view (6)
I believe the answer is:
aspect
'view' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'a religious group retaining initially positive' is the wordplay.
'religious group' becomes 'sect' (eg a religious sect).
'retaining' means one lot of letters goes inside another (inserted letters are held or retained).
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'positive' is 'p'.
'sect' enclosing 'p' is 'spect'.
'a'+'spect'='ASPECT'
(Other definitions for aspect that I've seen before include "Distinct part or element" , "Prospect, facet" , "Feature; appearance" , "View, panorama" , "Point of view or appearance" .)