Ark Encounter, a planned theme park in Kentucky based on Noah's Ark, will not get the benefit of state tax breaks.

Kentucky tourism officials have rescinded the offer of tax incentives, which were initially offered to the nonprofit subsidiary of Answers in Genesis that was building the park, because job candidates were to be screened based on religion. Answers in Genesis is the ministry that runs the controversial, yet popular, Creation Museum.

Officials are concerned that the purpose of the theme park has shifted from leisure to potential ministry outreach. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said in a statement Wednesday that park leaders had originally pledged not to discriminate. Kentucky officials initially celebrated the park as an opportunity for tourism.

"Certainly, Ark Encounter has every right to change the nature of the project from a tourism attraction to a ministry," state tourism secretary Bob Stewart wrote Wednesday in a letter to Jim Parsons, the lawyer representing Answers in Genesis. "However, state tourism tax incentives cannot be used to fund religious indoctrination, or otherwise be used to advance religion."

The park would include a 500-foot-long wooden ark, as described in the Bible's Old Testament.

A model of the Noah's Ark attraction planned for Ark Encounter. Image: Ark Encounter

Mark Looy, vice-president of outreach at Answers in Genesis, told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the group is considering its legal options.

Parsons, the group's lawyer, said Crosswater Canyon, the subsidiary that will operate the park, is legally allowed to "include religion as a criteria in its future hiring decisions."

A rendering of the park, featuring the giant Noah's Ark. Image: Ark Encounter

In recent months, Answers in Genesis has responded to critics who are angry over perceived taxpayer support for the project.

"No taxpayer dollars are being applied to construct it. Instead, the [tax] incentive ... pertains to sales tax collected at the finished Ark," Looy wrote in response to a letter the organization received. "If the completed Ark draws large crowds and thus major tourism dollars pour into the state, then the state sales tax collected at the Ark — from those who chose to visit — could be refunded."

"No unwilling taxpayers will see their tax dollars used to build the Ark," Looy added.

In July, the project received approval for up to $18 million in tax rebates.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press