Outline of religious books removed from containers in tatters (8)
I believe the answer is:
scenario
'outline' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'religious books removed from containers in tatters' is the wordplay.
'religious books' becomes 'NT' (New Testament).
'removed from' is a deletion indicator.
'in tatters' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen this in other clues).
'containers' with 'nt' taken away is 'coainers'.
'coainers' with letters rearranged gives 'SCENARIO'.
'of' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for scenario that I've seen before include "Suggested plan of action" , "Written outline of a film or play" , "Film/novel plot outline" , "expected sequence of events" , "Summary of plot of play" .)