Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear announced Wednesday the building of a religious theme park teaching creationism, and using tax payers money in the form of tax subsidies to do it. The park’s developers are seeking $37.5 million in state tourism development incentives. The park will be called “Ark Encounter” and is expected to feature a huge replica of Noah's Ark. The park is scheduled to open in the spring of 2014. Governor Beshear is selling the venture as an economic development project. Preliminary indications are that the attraction could draw as many as 1.6 million guests per year and would cost at least $24.5 million to complete. However, there are legal and ethical concerns about the state sponsoring a religious enterprise that threatens the intellectual health of the public. In addition, advocates for church-state separation argue the tax incentives violate the spirit of the First Amendment. http://www.examiner.com/progressive-in-portland/will-kentucky-tax-payers-subsidi… added by: unimatrix0
