Common Era

The Common Era is the period beginning with the year AD 1 onwards. The term is synonymous with the Christian Era, so named because the Christian calendar considers Jesus to have been born in that same year, thus "Common Era" is sometimes used as a religiously neutral alternative.

The term has been in use since the late 19th century and is common in academic circles worldwide. It has its equivalents in other languages. For example, Chinese uses a translation of the term, gōngyuán (公元), for date notation.

Chronology and notation

The term "Common Era" refers to the same time period enumerated in the Gregorian calendar, which is the world's de facto standard calendar system. The names of the 12 months and seven days of the week within this system predate the Christian Era, but the Gregorian calendar's salient feature – and the one prompting the coining of the term "Common Era" – is its system of numbering and naming years using the presumed birth year of Jesus as a starting point.

Thus, according to this international standard, the September 11 attacks occurred in the year 2001, the French Revolution occurred in the year 1789, and human beings first walked on the Moon in the year 1969.

Users of Common Era nomenclature consider these events to have occurred in years "of the Common Era".

When used as a replacement for the Christian Era's BC/AD notation, the Common Era is abbreviated as CE and is the direct chronological equivalent of AD; likewise, the time "before the Common Era" is written as BCE and is the direct chronological equivalent of BC. Both abbreviations are written following the year, thus Aristotle was born in 384 BCE (or 384 BC), and Genghis Khan died in 1227 CE (or AD 1227).

See also: Anno Domini

Usage

The Common Era designation is most often used by academics, especially by scholars of non-Christian cultures. Others, who believe that Christian Era notation clashes with their own religious or secular beliefs, have also adopted the designation.

BCE/CE notation is also used in interfaith dialogue by some Christian churches [1] and by some news media in the United States [2] in articles dealing with Middle Eastern or interfaith matters. Secular use of BCE/CE is especially common in the fields of non-Western history, archaeology, and anthropology. Organisations that use BCE/CE include the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada[3], and the U.S. National Center for History in the Schools, which publishes the National Standards for History that is taught to children aged from 5 to 17. [4].

United Kingdom

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in the United Kingdom makes the following statement:

"The national curriculum for history clearly states that 'pupils should be taught to use dates and vocabulary relating to the passing of time, including ancient, modern, BC, AD, century and decade'. The terms BCE and CE are not used in the national curriculum and there are no plans to introduce them.

"Schools are free to use them in addition to BC and AD or draw pupils' attention to their use elsewhere (such as in text books) but there is no suggestion that they should become replacements for the traditional Christian dating system." [5]

An article in the BBC's answer to Wikipedia, h2g2, which requires all articles to go through peer review) The 'Common Era' - a Secular Term for Year Definition notes that "The use of CE/BCE rather than AD/BC is (at the time of writing) limited, and rarely occurs in British speech. Television, radio, newspapers, most non-academic books and h2g2 all use the AD/BC terms much more frequently. Some historical and theological academic works do use the CE/BCE designations, although publications on non-religious issues tend not to bother."

Opposition

Some writers view "Common Era" as an attempt to remove Christian references from the calendar, and use "CE" notation to stand for "Christian Era" instead of "Common Era".

Arguments given for not using or changing to the Common Era designation include:

• It is a politically correct attempt to change our ordinary language by eliminating references to Christ.
• Usage of the term BC/AD does not, in fact, offend people of non-Christian beliefs.
• There is no need to replace a term that everyone knows and understands, which is "Before Christ".
• It downplays the prominence of Jesus Christ in majority-Christian societies.
• The names for the months in most European languages commemorate Roman deities (e.g. January, Janvier, Ιανουάριος, Janeiro etc), while the names for the days of the week commemorate Norse deities (e.g. Wednesday); some people believe that dating years according to yet a third religious tradition should not therefore be an issue of concern.
• It preserves a Christian-centric worldview at the expense of a neutral, non-religious timekeeping system, since the year 1 is not a "common" starting point for many cultures' calendar systems.

Support

Other people view Common Era notation as a neutral, secular, and therefore prudent notation that should become standard.

Arguments given for standardizing Common Era notation include:

• As the calendar used by the west becomes more global, it must become globally acceptable.
• Dating years according to Christianity is a concern, because Christianity is still massively influential and has the potential to be culturally divisive. Dating months and days based on Roman and Norse gods, however, is not a concern because the Roman and Norse religions are virtually extinct.
• It has been largely used by academic and scientific communites for over a century now, and is not a completely unfamiliar dating system.

External links

Overview

• The 'Common Era' - a Secular Term for Year Definition (from the BBC's answer to Wikipedia)

Usage

• Chicago Manual of Style on usage of CE/AD in the United States (see ninth question)

Commentary

• Whatever happened to B.C. and A.D., and why? (United Church of Christ)
• The use of "CE" and "BCE" to identify dates (Religious Tolerance.org)

Controversy over use in schools

United Kingdom

• AD and BC become CE/BCE, Evening Standard, Feb. 19, 2002
• History has to be rewritten as school bans BC and AD, News.Telegraph, Dec. 13, 2002

Australia

• Before Christ replaced in books, The Courier-Mail, March 2, 2005
• NSW Govt accused of rewriting history over BC ban, ABC, March 2, 2005
• Before Common Era Use in Schools - Question in New South Wales Legislative Council, 2 March 2005
• Comment in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 2 March 2005