Atheist Group Asks IRS To Investigate Noah's Ark Funding

An atheist group has reportedly asked the Internal Revenue Service to conduct an investigation of two organizations currently funding a Noah's Ark theme park in Williamstown, Kentucky.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation recently sent a letter to the IRS, imploring the government entity to look into the two organizations funding the building of the life-size Noah's Ark, being called the "Ark Encounter."

The atheist group is arguing that while one of the groups funding the project is Answers in Genesis, a nonprofit group, there is another organization known as the Ark Encounter, a for-profit group, that is also funding the ark's building. The atheist group argues that the organization is wrongfully telling donors on its website that donations made to the Ark Encounter are tax deductible, when the organization is a for-profit group and therefore doesn't have a tax exempt status.

"[Answers in Genesis'] fundraising materials include a space for donations to Ark Encounter, and note that donations are 'tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law,'" the Freedom From Religion Foundation said in a statement, as reportedly by The Blaze. "On the [Answers in Genesis] website, donors have the option to designate contributions to Ark Encounter."

The atheist group also said in a press release that the groups behind the Ark Encounter need to choose either a for-profit or charity organization status.

"Answers in Genesis cannot have it both ways," FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said. "Either the Ark Encounter is a religious enterprise and is eligible for tax-exempt donations, or [Answers in Genesis] and Ark Encounter can be taken at their word that the park is purely a commercial enterprise."