42.705 Legislative findings and declarations -- Display of historic religious and
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/ky/42-705A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
nonreligious artifacts, monuments, symbols, and texts in public buildings and
on public property owned by the Commonwealth. The General Assembly hereby finds and declares as follows:
(1)The Commonwealth's public buildings and their surrounding grounds provide
Kentucky's citizens and others a place at which they may conduct public business,
visit and interact with government officials, and learn about the Commonwealth's
history and government;
(2)The Commonwealth's public buildings and public properties are themselves
important symbols of Kentucky's history;
(3)Whether it be former battlegrounds, Native American sites, parks, recreation areas,
historic government sites, homes of famous Kentuckians, or any other site of
interest, without historic artifacts, monuments, symbols, and texts on the properties
and in the buildings, most persons would not even know of the significance of the
site or building;
(4)Kentucky is justly proud of its history, as the past is the prologue to how we live
today, how our government functions, and what things we hold to be important to
us;
(5)It is not in Kentucky's best interest to hide its heritage or traditions, or the beliefs or
deeply held opinions of its citizens;
(6)It is in Kentucky's best interest that its public buildings and public properties reflect
the Commonwealth's rich history by exhibiting items of significance to Kentucky's
civic and cultural development;
(7)The display of historic artifacts, monuments, symbols, and texts in and on the
grounds of Kentucky's public buildings and public properties promotes its citizens'
awareness of their common history and an appreciation of the persons and events
contributing to that history;
(8)The free exercise of religion, as well as the right to have no religion, is a right
guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of
Kentucky;
(9)The right of the people to express themselves is enshrined in the freedom of speech
guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of
Kentucky;
(10)While the authors of the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of
Kentucky were guaranteeing the free exercise of religion and prohibiting the
establishment of a state-sponsored religion, these same authors and the public
officials of that date publicly and regularly proclaimed a belief in a supreme being,
prayed openly, and placed religious-based statements and symbols in and on their
public buildings and properties, and that tradition has continued unbroken to this
day;
(11)The free exercise of religion, in all of its myriad expressions, is a significant
component of Kentucky's historical heritage and may be acknowledged as such;
(12)Historic artifacts, monuments, symbols, and texts, including but not limited to
religious materials, may be displayed in Kentucky's public schools, within the
framework of applicable legal precedents, if they are displayed in connection with a
course of study that is academic, balanced, objective, and not devotional in nature,
and that neither favors nor disfavors religion generally or any particular religious
belief; and
(13)Historic artifacts, monuments, symbols, and texts, including but not limited to
religious materials, may be displayed in Kentucky's public buildings and on
Kentucky's public properties if they are displayed in a:
(a)Balanced, objective, and not solely religious manner;
(b)Manner that neither favors nor disfavors religion generally;
(c)Manner that neither favors nor disfavors any religious belief; and
(d)Manner which promotes the display of Kentucky's historic, cultural, political,
and general heritage and achievements.