kentucky

Falling visitor rates at the infamous Creation Museum in Kentucky have resulted in some ingenuity on the part of its founder, Ken Ham.
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A Religious Right group in Kentucky is calling on parents to demand the right to deliver “inspirational messages” during public school assemblies, and they’re providing some interesting “facts” to make their case.

The Kentucky chapter of the American Family Association (AFA) just released a petition that declares, in no uncertain terms, that prayer in schools will take us back to Jesus and best of all, boost student test scores, lower the crime rate and even decrease the rate of HIV infection. Read more

Kentucky legislators have passed a law they say protects “religious freedom” and have forwarded it to Gov. Steve Beshear.

This morning, Americans United joined other groups in the state asking Beshear to veto the bill.

It’s not that AU doesn’t support religious freedom. Indeed, we consider the separation of church and state a necessary precondition for true religious liberty to flourish. The problem is, this bill isn’t really about religious freedom; it’s designed to do other things entirely. Read more

The other day I wrote about the ongoing disgrace of the Louisiana school voucher program, which – among other bad outcomes – will soon be pouring millions in taxpayer funds into the coffers of fundamentalist Christian schools, some of which teach that dinosaurs might still be alive and the Great Depression wasn’t so bad after all. Read more

Government officials can and do sponsor and promote various public events. Job fairs, educational seminars and town hall meetings are just a few examples. When these events occur, government officials often go out of their way to make sure people know about them and urge them to attend.

Can they do the same with a prayer breakfast? Read more

Americans United has monitored hospital mergers for a number of years now, pointing out that when Catholic hospitals join with non-Catholic institutions, Catholic doctrine is imposed, and certain services are lost. Read more

Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn’s light-hearted video about Kentucky’s proposed “Ark Park” has proven to be quite a hit. AU’s Facebook fans reacted positively, and the clip has nearly 5,000 views (and climbing) on You Tube. (If you haven't checked it out yet, take a look.) Read more

If you’re a regular reader of “The Wall of Separation,” you know that we’ve written several posts on the so-called “Ark Park” planned for Grant County, Ky.

State officials have agreed to give more than $40 million in various forms of tax breaks and incentives to a group of Christian fundamentalist entrepreneurs who want to build a type of theme park centered around a replica of Noah’s Ark. Among the backers is Answers in Genesis, a prominent creationist ministry run by Ken Ham. Read more

Is being a foe of church-state separation a prerequisite to being elected in Kentucky? How else can you explain all the work Kentucky government officials have done in the past two months to chip away at the church-state wall?

Yesterday, in the latest anti-separation move, the Kentucky Senate passed a measure that would mandate creation of an official Bible curriculum for Kentucky’s public schools. Read more

With Darwin Day (Feb. 12) just around the corner, scientists, educators and citizens across the world are gearing up to celebrate the birth of Charles Darwin and his contributions to science.

As Bill Nye “The Science Guy” recently put it, teachers’ reluctance to teach Darwin’s theory of evolution is “horrible.” Scientific advances that benefit everyone could be at risk if students don’t learn sound science. Read more