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Kentucky Announces Creationism Theme Park
riverat1 writes "On December first, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear announced that a creationism theme park is expected to open in 2014. Park developers are seeking state tourism development incentives and could receive up to $37.5 million over a 10-year period. Gov. Steve Beshear said he does not believe the incentives would violate the principle of church-state separation because the 14-year-old tax incentives law wasn’t approved for the purpose of benefiting the Ark Encounter. The park will have a 500 foot replica of the Ark with live animals on it and a Tower of Babel explaining how races and languages developed. The park will be turned over to Answers in Genesis after it is built. They are a non-profit organization which may allow them to discriminate in hiring on the basis of religion."
Sadly... this isn't the first. These sorts of parks have even been lampooned in Bill Maher's Religulous.
Actually, this wouldn't be a violation of the First Amendment. If you recall the text, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; IOTW, there's no law being made here and no prohibition against any other religion other than Judeo-Chritianity in this. (I suppose Muslims are included also, since they read the old testament, I think.) By the way, I agree it is a horrendous idea to include taxpayer dollars, just that it isn't unconstitutional. :P
You fail Constitution Law 101. The key phrase is "respecting an establishment of religion". Allocating money to a theme park requires the use of legislation. If that legislation supports Fundie Evangelical Protestant Christianity, then it violates the first amendment. By giving tax money to the theme park, you would be giving preference to Fundie Evangelical Protestant Christianity over all other forms of Christianity (the literalist interpretation of Genesis being considered a bit bizarre and stupid, even in the early Church), Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and so on, and so on, and so on.
Similar to the upcoming US election results
The taxpayers had no choice but to give their tax money to the state. The state has chosen to use this money to fund a theme park with the clear motivation of putting forth a particular set of religious beliefs. Hence, the taxpayer is being forced to fund religious teachings that he may or may not believe in. This is in violation of both the US Constitution and the Kentucky Constitution.
"If people want to push their religion of evolution (it's a religion... it has not been and cannot be absolutely PROVEN)"
...... coincides with the theory of evolution. It is fact. Denying evolution at this stage simply shows that one is not educated in any of the sciences.
Sorry, but this is just plain wrong. Evolution has been 100% proven. Yup, it is still a "theory", because theory has a different definition to a scientist than the general public.
Everything we currently know about genetics, biology, anatomy, geology,
If you don't believe in evolution, then you throw out everything we know about genetics and inheritance. I expect you will then decline any medical treatments that have been discovered through our knowledge of evolution and genetics.
Would you feel differently if this theme park was promoting another faith? One from the middle east perhaps? What about those tax dollars now? How about when those tax dollars fund cancer research, which is founded upon what we know about genetics and evolution.
Simply put, evolution and genetics are now the same subject.