When Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. stepped up to the lectern of a small brick Lutheran church on the outskirts of Baltimore yesterday morning, his words spoke to the tension that has been brewing between his fledgling administration and Maryland's religious community.
 
  "Just because Bob and Kendel don't wear religion on our shirt-sleeves doesn't mean we don't pray for guidance," the governor told parishioners at United Zion Church of Christ. "[We all] are people of faith, families of faith, whether we agree or disagree."
 
  At the moment, much of Maryland's religious establishment disagrees with Ehrlich (R) over one crucial issue: his plan to legalize slot machines In sermons, in letters to lawmakers, in visits to Annapolis and through a mounting stack of donations to a lobbying group called Stop Slots, religious leaders from a wide variety of denominations are entering the fray over Ehrlich's signature budget initiative.
 
  "We've taken on an active role, not typical of past church efforts in Maryland," said Preston Rivers, who heads the From the Heart Church ministry in Temple Hills, which has 26,000 members.
 
  "We've had our ministry get in contact with the legislature," Rivers said. "I've talked personally with senators and delegates about the issue. Our belief is that this must be actively pursued, because the moral fiber of our community is at stake."
 
  Until recently, many of Maryland's political leaders were predicting that the General Assembly would have little trouble passing a law to allow slot machines at four of the state's horse-racing tracks.
 
  Polls were showing that slots had popular support across much of Maryland. The state's deteriorating economy made the time ripe for a new source of revenue. The gambling industry had hired an army of lobbyists in Annapolis to fight for the cause. Gambling interests invested $120,000 in Ehrlich's successful gubernatorial campaign and donated $380,000 to help reelect key legislators and other candidates.
 
  But since the legislature convened in January, a band of advocates that has long crusaded against a gambling expansion has been slowly gaining strength. First, it found a champion in the new House speaker, Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel). It gained momentum as various slots supporters bickered over the formula for dividing the proceeds. And most recently, it has attracted political backing from religious circles.
 
  Minor Carter, a lobbyist who helped launch Stop Slots, said the nonprofit organization has been largely funded and supported by religious groups. Methodists have given $5,000, Muslims have chipped in $2,500, and Carter said that, with help from others, he hopes to raise $40,000 by the end of this month.
 
  For many of the religious groups, Carter said, the effort is grounded in their experiences with gambling. "They've seen firsthand what gambling can do," he said. "They're the people to whom families turn when there are gambling losses and family breakups."
 
  But also, said Richard K. Dowling of the Maryland Catholic Conference, many in the religious community felt a moral obligation to get involved.
 
  "We're in it because the people who are impacted most are the people who can least afford to give money to some purposeless activity," Dowling said. "That is to say, the poor."
 
  Advocates for slots have said that moral arguments are not applicable when it comes to an activity that is forced on no one and, in their view, is no more frivolous than a night at the movies. They said they do not expect that religious groups will hold sway, once lawmakers face up to the budget crisis.
 
  But Carter said he believes the spiritual community can exert political leverage with every bit as much skill as the lobbyists who linger outside the House and Senate chambers.
 
  One way to do that, he said, is to "go into [every lawmaker's] parish and have their own minister tell the congregation that one of their members will be voting on this."
 
  That has been happening across the state. Yesterday in Montgomery County, senior minister T.J. Baltimore issued his call to action during a sermon at People's Community Baptist Church, where Del. Gareth E. Murray (D-Montgomery), a slots opponent, is a parishioner.
 
  "Mr. Ehrlich: Don't deal with slots," Baltimore preached. "We ought not settle for the quick fix."
 
  Last Sunday, St. Luke Lutheran Church in Silver Spring included a notice in the church bulletin urging parishioners to contact their lawmakers about slot machine gambling -- and provided access to a computer for sending e-mails. United Methodist churches across Maryland asked congregation members to use the church coffee hour to call their legislators.
 
  "The people in the pews need to get active on this issue. It's not too late," said the Rev. Erik Alsgaard, spokesman for the Baltimore-Washington conference of the United Methodist Church, which sent a bulletin to 700 Methodist preachers.
 
  Keith Haller, a pollster and political analyst in Montgomery County, said he believes such efforts are clearly having an impact on the debate in Annapolis and across the state.
 
  His polling has shown support for slots slipping to just below 50 percent in recent weeks.
 
  "In the absence of countervailing pressure, the religious voice is going to have an effect," Haller said. "The legislators are going to feel those religious winds."
 
  Gambling industry advocates said they hope that before long, members of the legislature will begin feeling countervailing pressure from those who will face deep cuts in services if Ehrlich cannot find other sources of money to balance the budget.
 
  Ehrlich spokesman Henry Fawell said the governor respects those who oppose slots on religious grounds and will make no attempt to change their minds. But Ehrlich believes he is standing on moral high ground.
 
  "His position," Fawell said, "is that the benefits of helping to balance the budget and fund education make it worth bringing in slots to Maryland."
 
  The Associated Press contributed to this report.
 
 
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