Ease off religious education ahead of Christian period (6)
I believe the answer is:
relent
'ease off' is the definition.
(I know that ease off can be written as relent)
'religious education ahead of christian period' is the wordplay.
'religious education' becomes 'RE' (abbreviation).
'ahead of' means one lot of letters go next to another (some letters go in front of others).
'christian period' becomes 'Lent' (period of fasting in Christianity).
're'+'lent'='RELENT'
(Other definitions for relent that I've seen before include "Become less severe, soften" , "Abandon cruel treatment" , "Decide to be kind after all?" , "Become less stern than intended" , "Relax severity or opposition" .)