Ark Encounter, the Noah’s Ark-inspired theme park set to open in Kentucky in 2016 has come under fire yet again, this time for reportedly refusing to hire anyone who doesn’t believe in the biblical flood.

According to local news sources, the group behind the attraction – Answers in Genesis (AiG) – asks prospective employees to sign a faith statement, which includes a belief in creationism and the flood.

The planned Ark attraction and AIG have both come under fire, with atheist groups stating the project to be “absolutely inappropriate."

Opponents to the plans have urged people to take action by directly contacting the Kentucky Tourism Department. Meanwhile, state officials have threatened to rescind tax incentives – amounting to more than US$18m (£11m, €14.2m) over a 10-year period for the park – if it is found to use any 'discriminatory hiring practices'.

Ark Encounter's executive president Mike Zovath said in a statement: "We're hoping the state takes a hard look at their position and changes their position so it doesn't go further than this."

In July, the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority voted unanimously to give preliminary approval of the incentives for the US$73m (€54.4m, £43m) first construction phase of the biblical theme park. The 800-acre attraction is set to feature a recreation of a village prior to the biblical floods, as well as a Tower of Babel housing an audio-visual effects theatre and a full-sized ark.

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