Atheists, agnostics and others who don’t believe in God can be barred from giving invocations at the Pennsylvania statehouse, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

The decision by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upholds a state House of Representatives policy that its opening invocations may only be given by “a member of a regularly established church or religious organization” or a sitting member of the House.

In a split 2-to-1 ruling, the appeals court said the policy does not violate First Amendment rights because it fits within the “historical tradition of legislative prayer” and counts as government speech.