Creationist theme park founder forces employees to sign celibacy pledge

Creationist crusader Ken Ham bragged that the construction of his “Ark Encounter” theme park in Williamstown, Kentucky would bring lots of jobs to the surrounding community. But it turns out those jobs will only be available to the chaste.

According to a report from Fox13Now, Ham requires all park employees to sign a statement declaring their belief in young earth creationism (the literal biblical interpretation that says the earth was created in 6 days and 6 nights, rejecting scientific evidence that the earth is 4.5 billion-years-old) and that homosexuality and pre-marital sex are sins – all in light of the park’s $18 million in sales tax incentives. The main attraction of the park is a “life-sized” replica of Noah’s Ark, measuring 510 feet long, 85 feet wide and 8 stories high.

The endeavor has received some backlash from local residents. Speaking to Fox13Now, Baptist minister Bob Fox said that he’s worried about what precedent the project will set for the separation of church and state.

“I believe, as a Baptist, in the separation of Church and State and I don’t think that the state ought to be involved in promoting any particular religious views,” he said.

“There’s kinds of laws called ‘Sharia,’ where people have used legislation and the government to promote a religious faith, and I think we as Christians need to be careful that we continue to be Christian, and to be Christian in the context of the United States,” he added.

Ham is predicting that up to 2 million visitors will come to the park each year.

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.

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