Aggressive old communist dictator protecting church (5)
I believe the answer is:
macho
'aggressive' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'dictator protecting church' is the wordplay.
'dictator' becomes 'Mao' (Mao Zedong of China).
'protecting' indicates putting letters inside (inserted letters are held or protected).
'church' becomes 'ch' (abbreviation on maps etc).
'mao' placed around 'ch' is 'MACHO'.
'old communist' is the link.
This may not be correct. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for macho that I've seen before include "Jock" , "Exaggeratedly masculine" , "red-blooded" , "Spiny lobster" , "Markedly manly?" .)