Liberal attending religious place that's closer (5)
I believe the answer is:
latch
'closer' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'liberal attending religious place' is the wordplay.
'liberal' becomes 'l' (abbreviation).
'attending' becomes 'at' (I've seen this in other clues).
'religious place' becomes 'ch' (ch is an abbreviation for church).
'l'+'at'+'ch'='LATCH'
'that's' is the link.
(Other definitions for latch that I've seen before include "retainer" , "Device for opening door" , "Fastening for door or window" , "Gate fastening" , "Door-catch" .)