It cuts them when locals scorn religious groups (8)
I believe the answer is:
dissects
'it cuts them' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun but the answer is not.
'locals scorn religious groups' is the wordplay.
'locals scorn' becomes 'dis' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'religious groups' becomes 'sects' (sect is a type of religious group).
'dis'+'sects'='DISSECTS'
'when' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dissects that I've seen before include "Cuts apart to examine internally" , "Cuts open and takes apart" .)