After much debate, Kentucky officials withdrew a state tax incentive for a replica of a Noah's Ark project. The state declared that the incentive was a violation of the separation between church and state.
"State tourism tax incentives cannot be used to fund religious indoctrination or otherwise be used to advance religion. The use of state incentives in this way violates the separation of church and state provisions of the Constitution and is therefore impermissible," wrote Bob Stewart, tourism secretary, to AIG, as reported by The Courier-Journal.
The Christian theme park is to be built on 800 acres in Williamstown Kentucky and headed by famous creationist and apologist Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis (AIG). AIG signed up for a state tax incentive that was meant to boost tourism in Kentucky.
James Parson, a lawyer working for AIG, wrote a letter to the state, as reported by Christian Post. The letter stated that should the state not remove demands placed on the project, AIG will "seek redress in federal court."
The state tax incentive program is meant to allow tourist attractions to receive a rebate of up to a quarter of development costs through a sales tax refund from sales tax collected during the first decade of operation.
What makes this more disappointing for AIG is how the Noah's Ark project initially received approval from the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Committee. The theme park was set to receive a rebate amounting to over 40 million dollars, USA Today reported.
The finance committee then requested AIG to apply once more for the tax incentive. This unfortunate turn for AIG happened after AIG officially told the tourism committee that the project would be constructed in phases and that AIG would be the sole owner. AIG complied with the committee and filed for the tax rebate once more.
In move that disappointed AIG further, the state said it would approve the rebate provided no religious preference should be displayed during the hiring process for the theme park's employees and Christianity was not to be discussed during any of the shows at the park.
Ham expressed his disapproval and claimed, "The state has known all along that our ark project was based on the Bible. It's always been a religious attraction."
AIG and Ham didn't stop at social media and blogs to show their rejection of the state's decision. This week 16 billboards were put up all over Kentucky, plus a digital board in New York City's Times Square. The billboards shows a photo of the ark as well as the caption:
"To all of our intolerant liberal friends: THANK GOD YOU CAN'T SINK THIS SHIP."