Liberal is firm and very devout (7)
I believe the answer is:
copious
'liberal' is the definition.
(both can mean ample or generous)
'firm and very devout' is the wordplay.
'firm' becomes 'co' (a firm is a company).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'very devout' becomes 'pious' (very religious).
'co'+'pious'='COPIOUS'
'is' is the link.
(Other definitions for copious that I've seen before include "Redundant" , "Abundant in supply" , "full" , "Plentiful, existing in large amounts" , "abundance" .)