MA ULM: expanding your dominion

[jaif]

I generally play ulm. I find myself expanding my provinces much faster than my dominion. I tend to keep my prophet on the front lines, build plenty of fortresses+temples+labs, occasional lonely temples in convenient spots, but still I always seem to be fighting deep inside enemy dominion.

Do I need to build an army of (crappy) priests just for preaching purposes? Is there some other trick?

-Jeff