Washington ? The House, citing the nation’s religious origins, voted Wednesday to protect the Pledge of Allegiance from federal judges who might try to stop schoolchildren and others from reciting it because of the phrase “under God.”

The legislation, a priority of social conservatives, passed 260-167. It now goes to the Senate, where its future is uncertain.

The pledge bill would deny jurisdiction to federal courts, and appellate jurisdiction to the Supreme Court, to decide questions pertaining to the interpretation or constitutionality of the pledge. State courts could still decide whether the pledge is valid within the state.

Supporters argued that the “under God” phrase, added in 1954, was intrinsic to the nation’s heritage and traditions and must be shielded from unelected judges. “This is an issue that clearly resonates to what we are about as a country,” said House GOP Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

In the Kansas delegation, Rep. Dennis Moore, a Democrat, was the only member to vote against the bill.