{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-42.705","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 42.705","heading":"Legislative findings and declarations -- Display of historic religious and","body":"nonreligious artifacts, monuments, symbols, and texts in public buildings and\non public property owned by the Commonwealth.\nThe General Assembly hereby finds and declares as follows:\n(1) The Commonwealth's public buildings and their surrounding grounds provide\nKentucky's citizens and others a place at which they may conduct public business,\nvisit and interact with government officials, and learn about the Commonwealth's\nhistory and government;\n(2) The Commonwealth's public buildings and public properties are themselves\nimportant symbols of Kentucky's history;\n(3) Whether it be former battlegrounds, Native American sites, parks, recreation areas,\nhistoric government sites, homes of  famous Kentuckians, or any other site of\ninterest, without historic artifacts, monuments, symbols, and texts on the properties\nand in the buildings, most persons would not even know of the significance of the\nsite or building;\n(4) Kentucky is justly proud  of its history, as the past is the prologue to how we live\ntoday, how our government functions, and what things we hold to be important to\nus;\n(5) It is not in Kentucky's best interest to hide its heritage or traditions, or the beliefs or\ndeeply held opinions of its citizens;\n(6) It is in Kentucky's best interest that its public buildings and public properties reflect\nthe Commonwealth's rich history by exhibiting items of significance to Kentucky's\ncivic and cultural development;\n(7) The display of histori c artifacts, monuments, symbols, and texts in and on the\ngrounds of Kentucky's public buildings and public properties promotes its citizens'\nawareness of their common history and an appreciation of the persons and events\ncontributing to that history;\n(8) The free exercise of religion, as well as the right to have no religion, is a right\nguaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of\nKentucky;\n(9) The right of the people to express themselves is enshrined in the freedom of speech\nguaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of\nKentucky;\n(10) While the authors of the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of\nKentucky were guaranteeing the free exercise of religion and prohibiting the\nestablishment of a state -sponsored religion, these same authors and the public\nofficials of that date publicly and regularly proclaimed a belief in a supreme being,\nprayed openly, and placed religious -based statements and symbols in and on their\npublic buildin gs and properties, and that tradition has continued unbroken to this\nday;\n(11) The free exercise of religion, in all of its myriad expressions, is a significant\ncomponent of Kentucky's historical heritage and may be acknowledged as such;\n(12) Historic arti facts, monuments, symbols, and texts, including but not limited to\nreligious materials, may be displayed in Kentucky's public schools, within the\nframework of applicable legal precedents, if they are displayed in connection with a\ncourse of study that is a cademic, balanced, objective, and not devotional in nature,\nand that neither favors nor disfavors religion generally or any particular religious\nbelief; and\n(13) Historic artifacts, monuments, symbols, and texts, including but not limited to\nreligious mate rials, may be displayed in Kentucky's public buildings and on\nKentucky's public properties if they are displayed in a:\n(a) Balanced, objective, and not solely religious manner;\n(b) Manner that neither favors nor disfavors religion generally;\n(c) Manner that neither favors nor disfavors any religious belief; and\n(d) Manner which promotes the display of Kentucky's historic, cultural, political,\nand general heritage and achievements.","path":["KRS Chapter 42"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=22087","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:03Z","sha256":"3fb8f86d3964e526fb6586f2bd92c45c9c89efa8328b98694317b154ab026975","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-42.700","next":"us-ky/krs-42.710"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}