Evangelical American to rub pantheists up the wrong way (8,7)

I believe the answer is:

southern baptist

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'wrong way' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'evangelical american to rub pantheists up' is the wordplay.
'to rub pantheists' anagrams to 'SOUTHERN BAPTIST'.
Though, I'm unsure how this is indicated.

'the' is the link.

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I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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