The developers of the Ark Encounter theme park in northern Kentucky are filing a federal lawsuit against state officials for refusing to include their project in the state's tax rebate incentive programme.
Based on the information released by Answers in Genesis (AiG), the company's lawsuit will cite violations to federal and state laws as well as unlawful discrimination against Gov. Steve Beshear and Robert Stewart, Kentucky's Secretary of the Tourism, Arts, and Heritage.
"Our organisation spent many months attempting to reason with state officials so that this lawsuit would not be necessary," said AiG president Ken Ham. "However, the state was so insistent on treating our religious entity as a second-class citizen that we were simply left with no alternative but to proceed to court. This is the latest example of increasing government hostility towards religion in America, and it's certainly among the most blatant."
AiG is claiming that the theme park was disqualified from the programme because of its religious identity and message.
In a video that it produced concerning the lawsuit, AiG stated when the Ark project started in 2014, state officials granted preliminary approval for the company to receive a rebate from new state sales taxes but rescinded the agreement after anti-Christian groups lobbied against AiG's policy of only hiring Christians, as well as the messages that will be presented in the Bible-themed park.
In an earlier report, Tourism Secretary Stewart cited the nature of the theme park as the reason behind the state's reversal of its earlier decision to include the facility in its tax rebate programme. Religion is also the crux of the matter.
"Certainly, Ark Encounter has every right to change the nature of the project from a tourism attraction to a ministry," Stewart said in his letter to AiG representatives. "However, state tourism tax incentives cannot be used to fund religious indoctrination or otherwise be used to advance religion."
Governor Beshears for his part took issue with the park's decision to limit their hiring to members of the Christian faith, following AiG's admission to tourism officials that they would be including religion in the criteria in their hiring process.
"It has become apparent that they do intend to use religious beliefs as a litmus test for hiring decisions," Beshear said in a statement.
In their video, AiG noted the pressing concern that the action presents across all sectors.
"When such an unconstitutional state action goes unchallenged, it sets a dangerous precedent for all other religious and minority groups," it stated.
