A federal appellate panel on Tuesday rejected arguments that a Washington public transit system rule barring a religious advertisement violates the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The two-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit refused to issue a preliminary injunction requiring the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to place on the exterior of its buses what the panel called an “avowedly religious ad” by the Archdiocese of Washington.