AUSTIN, Texas - Openly and deeply religious, Governor Rick Perry of Texas organized what seemed like a slam-dunk event for a politician in a state where religion and politics walk hand in hand: He would fill Houston’s Reliant Stadium with fellow believers in a seven-hour session of Christian atonement by some of the nation’s most conservative preachers, exhorting believers to pray about the nation’s moral decline.

Since he set up the event scheduled for Saturday, however, Perry has become the most talked about almost-candidate in the 2012 Republican presidential field. But with only 8,000 RSVPs for a stadium that seats 71,500 people, virtually no politicians planning to attend, and a slate of organizers who hold out-of-mainstream views on religious freedom, gay rights, and even Adolf Hitler, the event has become a potentially risky political gamble.

Some conservatives suggested the overtly religious event, called “The Response,’’ could distract from Perry’s key selling points on the relatively successful Texas economy and could backfire in such places as New Hampshire, the first primary state.

“One thing Republicans are going to demand this election is a candidate who can beat Barack Obama,’’ said Alex Castellanos, a Republican strategist who has worked for Perry opponents but is now unaligned. “The election is all about him. A candidate who establishes his identity on the fringe, talking about social and religious issues, when the economy is going over a cliff, risks marginalizing himself, becoming unacceptable to independents and unelectable. That would be the kiss of death.’’

Castellanos added: “Perry should be trying to establish recognition as the minister of job creation. This leads him to build an identity as just a minister.’’

But Mark McKinnon, a GOP consultant and former aide to President George W. Bush, said success will be measured in how Perry handles it.

“He has quickly become a favorite of the Tea Party types and social conservatives,’’ McKinnon said. “The question will be whether Perry can calibrate his remarks in a way that makes him appealing to a broader audience.’’

Perry is not expected to announce his decision on a presidential bid until sometime after the rally.

Perry, 61, began organizing the gathering in December. A month earlier, on the day Texas voters gave Perry a third full term in office, he told the Associated Press that he held many political views that were too extreme for a presidential candidate.

The sponsors of the rally also hold some controversial views.