Crossword Genius

See e.g. gents pursuing sex and the Bible in retreat (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

vatican

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'see' is the definition.
(the Vatican is the Holy See)

'sex and the bible in retreat' is the wordplay.
'sex' becomes 'ican' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'the' becomes 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects).
'bible' becomes 'AV' (Authorised Version of the Bible).
'in retreat' says the letters should be written in reverse.
't'+'av'='tav'
'tav' written backwards gives 'vat'.
'ican' put after 'vat' is 'VATICAN'.

'e g gents pursuing' acts as a link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for vatican that I've seen before include "religious authority" , "Papal authority" , "Holy See" , "European state" , "Papal residence" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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