Common Era

The Common Era (also known as the Christian Era) is a designation for the period of time from AD 1 onwards, abbreviated as CE. Any "AD" year ("anno Domini," or "in the year of our Lord [i.e. Jesus Christ]") is the same "CE" year, thus AD 500 is the same year as 500 CE. Similarly, "before the common era," or BCE, replaces the acronym "BC," or "before Christ." Just like the AD/CE equivalency, any "BC" year is the same "BCE" year, so it is equally accurate to say that Mount Vesuvius erupted in either 79 BC or 79 BCE.

Proper use of "AD" mirrors the fact that the original Latin is a prepositional phrase, so "in the year of our Lord 2004" is correctly written as "AD 2004," and not as "2004 AD," as many people write. This is opposite to correct usage of "BC," which is always writen after the year it modifies (e.g. "79 BC"). Conversely, both "CE" and "BCE" follow the year.

Though "common era" notation and usage is common in academic circles and non-Christian historical writings, it has not entered into general use by the public.

Background

Though there are many calendars, the Gregorian calendar has achieved prominence in practical use worldwide. The days, months, and leap years of its direct predecessor, the Julian calendar, were devised by Romans in the pre-Christian era. Virtually all Romans identified each year by naming the two consuls who held office that year until the sixth century, resulting almost always in non-numerical year notation.

On the other hand, Christian histories usually numbered the years since the beginning of the world. In 525, the Anno Domini system was invented, which counted the years of the Julian calendar from the accepted date of Jesus's birth. This system was not popular until Bede used it in 731. The transition by the Christian church to the Gregorian calendar, which was promulgated in 1582, corrected seasonal errors due to an incorrect leap year system, but this correction left the numbering of the years intact.

The spread of the Gregorian calendar has made it the standard worldwide chronology, though some countries and cultures maintain their own calendars for parochial purposes. But this worldwide adoption also brought religious and cultural tensions over the centuries-old Western custom of AD/BC notation.

History

The term "Common Era" has been in use since the late 19th century. Indeed, in its article on "Chronology," the 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia uses the sentence: "Foremost among these [dating eras] is that which is now adopted by all civilized peoples and known as the Christian, Vulgar, or Common Era, in the twentieth century of which we are now living."

Adoption

The adoption of the Common Era designation is partial, mainly focused in academic circles. Historians of non-Christian cultures in particular prefer the new designation when dating events that occurred beyond the influence of Christian cultures. The designation has also been adopted by some non-Christians, who believe that the incorporation of Jesus Christ into the world's timekeeping standard clashes with their own religious beliefs.

Opposition

Although Common Era dating is widespread amongst historians, archeologists, and other academics, it has not gained general acceptance outside those groups, so the general public is still largely unfamiliar with common era notation.

Apart from the argument that the term should not be used outside certain academic circles because it is not generally understood, others oppose the "Common Era" designation because:

• It downplays the prominence of Jesus Christ in majority-Christian societies.
• The months and days of the week, named respectively after Roman and Norse gods, remain unchanged, so attempts to remove references to Jesus in the calendar are hypocritical.
• It is an example of political correctness.
• It preserves a Christian-centric worldview, when a neutral, non-religious timekeeping system would be more appropriate.

External links

• Religious Tolerance.org: The use of "CE" and "BCE" to identify dates
• In British schools:
  • This is London: Evening Standard, 19 February 2002: AD and BC become CE/BCE
  • News.Telegraph: 13 December 2002: History has to be rewritten as school bans BC and AD