Dec. 13, 2010 /EIN Presswire/ — In an attempt to combat joblessness and decreasing revenues, the state of Kentucky has given tax incentives to a group of entrepreneurs that plans on making a biblical theme park centered around a life-sized replica of Noah’s Ark.
On 800 acres of land, the park will include a massive ark with live animals, a 100-foot tower of Babel and exhibits from the Old Testament. Developers of Ark Encounter say that they expect to employ 900 people and draw more than 1.6 million visitors each year.
Critics argue that the tax incentives given to Ark Encounter break the separation of church and state. Democratic Gov. Steven L. Beshear says that the agreement does not violate the First Amendment but will spur economic growth.
The agreement has prompted sharp criticism from The Lexington Herald-Leader, a Kentucky newspaper, which decries the plan as detrimental to Kentucky’s economy and the image of the state.
An editorial in the Herald-Leader argues that such an arrangement shows that “Kentucky either embraces such [religious] thinking or is desperate to take advantage of those who do.”
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