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The Common Era (CE), sometimes known as the Current Era or less often referred to as the Christian Era, is the period of measured time beginning with the year 1 (the traditional birthdate of Jesus) to the present. The notations CE and BCE (Before the Common Era or Before the Christian Era) are alternative notations for AD (anno Domini, Latin for "in the year of the Lord") and BC (Before Christ), respectively. They may also be written C.E. and B.C.E.

Although the term common era was first used by some Christians, it is now the term preferred by some as a religiously-neutral alternative. Others criticize it as an unnecessary euphemism or an attempt at political correctness, pointing out that the pivotal year 1 still centers on the supposed date of Jesus' birth. The phrase 'Common Era' has its equivalents in other languages: For example, since the People's Republic of China succeeded the Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese have used the literal translation of Common Era, gōngyuán (公元), for date notation. Additionally, the term "CE" is preferred by academics in some fields (e.g. by the American Anthropological Association).

Chronology and notation

The calendar practice prompting the coining of the term common era is the system of numbering years from the supposed year of birth of Jesus. This system was devised by the monk Dionysius Exiguus in the year 525, who named it anno Domini. Two centuries later, the Anglo-Saxon historian Bede used a Latin term (ante incarnationis dominicae) that is roughly equivalent to the English term before Christ to identify years before the first year of this era.

The term "common era" is an alternative way of referring to this era. Using this nomenclature, human beings first walked on the Moon in the year 1969 of the common era, and the French Revolution is considered to have occurred in year 1789 of the common era.

When used as a replacement for BC/AD notation, the common era is abbreviated as CE and its years are numerically equivalent to AD years. Similarly, the time before the common era is written as BCE and is equivalent to BC. Both Common Era 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). As with anno Domini, the year zero is not used, except for astronomical uses. So 1 CE is immediately preceded by 1 BCE.

On (rare) occasions, one may find the abbreviation "e.v." or "EV" instead of "CE"; this stands for "Era Vulgaris", the Latin translation of "Common Era".

Origins

According to Peter Daniels (a Cornell University and University of Chicago trained linguist):

CE and BCE came into use in the last few decades, perhaps originally in Ancient Near Eastern studies, where (a) there are many Jewish scholars and (b) dating according to a Christian era is irrelevant. It is indeed a question of sensitivity.

However, the term "common era" has earlier antecedents. A 1716 book by English Bishop John Prideaux says, "The vulgar era, by which we now compute the years from his incarnation." In 1835, in his book Living Oracles, Alexander Campbell, wrote "The vulgar Era, or Anno Domini; the fourth year of Jesus Christ, the first of which was but eight days." 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."

"Vulgar" comes from the Latin word vulgāris (from vulgus, the common people), meant "of or belonging to the common people, everyday," and acknowledges that the date was commonly used, even by people who did not believe that Jesus was divine. By the late 1800s, however, vulgar had come to mean "crudely indecent" and the Latin word was replaced by its English equivalent, "common".

The first known Jewish use of this practice is from an inscription on a gravestone in a Jewish cemetery in Plymouth, England:

Here is buried his honour Judah ben his honour Joseph, a prince and honoured amongst philanthropists, who executed good deeds, died in his house in the City of Bath, Tuesday, and was buried here on Sunday, 19 Sivan in the year 5585. In memory of Lyon Joseph Esq (merchant of Falmouth, Cornwall). who died at Bath June AM 5585/VE 1825. Beloved and respected.

This inscription uses the Hebrew calendar (5585), but ends by providing the common year (1825); presumably the "VE" means "Vulgar Era", and presumably VE was used instead of AD in order to avoid the Christian implications.

Usage

Many Jewish writers, Islamic scholars, and others prefer the notation's neutrality, while some Christians have used the term CE to mean "Christian Era." Jehovah's Witnesses exclusively use CE and BCE in their publications, generally explaining in footnotes that the terms stand for "Common Era" and "Before the Common Era". Some non-religious academics in the fields of history, theology, archaeology, sociology and anthropology have also in recent decades begun using this system.

More visible uses of common era notation have recently surfaced at major museums in the English-speaking world: The Smithsonian Institution prefers Common Era usage, though individual museums are not required to use it. Furthermore, several style guides now prefer or mandate its usage. See:. Even some style guides for Christian churches mandate its use: For example, that of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.(pdf)

In the United States, the usage of the BCE/CE notation in textbooks is growing. It is used by the College Board in its history tests, as well as by some National Geographic Society publications, and the United States Naval Observatory. . The U.S.-based History Channel uses BCE/CE notation in articles on non-Christian religious topics such as Jerusalem and Judaism , and BC/AD in other cases .

Support and Opposition

A range of arguments exist both for and against the use of BC and BCE.

Support

Supporters of common era notation promote it as a religiously-neutral notation suited for cross-cultural use.

Arguments given for standardizing common era notation include:

• The calendar used by the West has become a global standard—one built into every computer's hardware. It should be religiously and culturally neutral out of consideration for those cultures compelled to use it out of necessity.

• It has been largely used by academic and scientific communities for over a century now, and is not a completely unfamiliar dating system.

• Dating years according to Christian theology has the potential to be culturally divisive in worldwide use. Naming months and days based on Roman and Norse gods, however, is of little concern because the Roman and Norse religions are virtually extinct and thus exclude everyone equally. No alternative naming system for days and months exists which has gained much currency. Furthermore, the names of the days of the week come from the names of the planets and other celestial objects, and four months are already named according to their numerical sequence. People in other cultures are free to name the months and days of the week as they wish in their own language (and they do), but years are just numbers and it is quite easy to make them less overtly culturally specific.

• It promotes ecumenical standards and Christian Era is an interchangeable meaning for the acronym CE.

• It is simple to change BC/AD to BCE/CE notation, since the years are numbered exactly the same in both. (33 BC becomes 33 BCE.) Documents with years that do not have AD designation do not need to be changed at all. (Example: 1066 remains 1066 in AD and in CE systems)

• The intensity with which some Christians protest against any switch from BC/AD to BCE/CE indicates that, despite any claims to the contrary, BC/AD has not become "removed from its religious connotations".

• The label Anno Domini is almost certainly inaccurate—the birth of Jesus of Nazareth probably occurred no later than 4 BC, the year of Herod the Great's death.

• Common Era notation works well syntactically with centuries, whereas Anno Domini, because it is about years instead of eras, does not ("In the 18th Century, Common Era" versus "In the year of the Lord, 18th Century" versus "In the 19th century in the year of the Lord").

Opposition

Efforts to replace AD/BC notation with CE/BCE notation have given rise to opposition. Arguments against the common era designation include:

• The term "Common era" is viewed as a euphemism for Anno Domini. MSN Encarta recognizes the era simply as "Christian (Common) Era: the period after the birth of Jesus Christ" and uses the AD/BC notation in all articles .

• BC and AD have been used for such a length of time as to have become somewhat removed from their religious connotations.

• The newer BCE/CE system has not been used widely enough so as to have become commonly understood.

• "BCE" and "CE" are so similar that they may confuse readers. Changing the notation merely confuses members of the public for only minor benefits.

• Some object to the common era's retention of the year 1 as its epoch because it preserves a Christocentric worldview at the expense of a religiously neutral timekeeping system. These people hold that a more massive change in the calendar is needed, one that would change every date. Likewise, the imposition of a Christian calendar as a "Common Era" is also seen by some to be self-defeating, as the use of "Common Era" as a neutral term is in fact the opposite, because "Common Era" assumes that the belief in the supposed year of Jesus' year of birth is common to and held by all people worldwide. Whereas BC/AD is in fact neutral because its origins are clear, and that it can be used by all without having to acknowledge that its origins have any basis in reality, just as days of the week named after Norse gods does not imply the believe in Norse gods.

• BCE/CE fails to fix one of the primary problems with the Christian calendar, the lack of a year "0". 1 BC should become the year 0, 2 BC should become 1 BC, et cetera. There is no point to changing the system, without fixing the system.

• As there is no equally forceful trend to remove other terms with origins in non-Christian religions (such as days of the week named after Norse gods), the movement to replace BC and AD is specifically anti-Christian.

Examples of opposition include:

• When BC was changed to BCE in one examination question in New South Wales, Australia in early 2005, it prompted questions and protestations of offence in both chambers of the State Parliament, and the State Education Minister stated in Parliament that the change should not have been made.

• When the teaching of what BCE/CE meant was introduced into the English National Curriculum in 2002, it prompted confused letters to national newspapers.

• When the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada changed from using BC to using BCE, it was subjected to derision as well as complaints expressed in the national Canadian press.

Other calendar eras

Several major calendar systems exist in addition to the Western calendar:

• The Hindu calendar constitutes four eras and the epoch of the present (fourth) era, the Kali Yuga, is January 23 3102 BCE on the proleptic (i.e., back-dated) Gregorian calendar, making the current year (2006) 5108.

• The Hebrew calendar dates from the Creation (according to which the year beginning in the northern autumn of 2000 was 5761 AM);

• Most Chinese do not assign numbers to the years of the Chinese calendar, but the few that do (expatriate Chinese and Westerners) date from the Yellow Emperor (three different systems are in use, which caused the Chinese years 4637, 4697, or 4698 to begin in early 2000).

• The Taiwanese calendar dates from the founding of the Republic of China in 1911.

• The Buddhist calendar dates from the birth of the Buddha (making 2000, 2543 under this calendar, but only in Thailand);

• The Indian national calendar (also the Saka calendar) is the official civil calendar in use in India. Years are counted in the Saka Era, which starts its year 0 in 78. 2006 is therefore 1928 in India.

• The Islamic calendar dates from the Hijra in 622 using a lunar year of about 354 days (so the Western year 2000 contains parts of 1420 AH and 1421 AH);

• The Bahá'í calendar dates from the year of the declaration of the Báb. Years are counted in the Bahá'í Era (BE), which starts its year 1 from March 21, 1844.

• The Japanese calendar dates from the succession of the current Emperor of Japan. The current emperor took the throne in 1989, which became Heisei 1, but which was until then Shōwa 63.

• The Jalaali calendar, a form of the Zoroastrian calendar, is used in Iran. This uses the Zoroastrian months, with the starting year taken from the Hijra in 622—thus the year 1385 begins in March 2006. The spring equinox marks the beginning of the year for this calendar.

• The French Revolutionary Calendar was used in Revolutionary France from October 24, 1793 (on the Gregorian calendar) to January 1, 1806. Years were counted using the Republican era from September 22 1792 starting with year I.

• The Neo-Pagan Calendars include that used by many pagan religions today, often called the Wheel of the Year.

• The Roman Calendar, which is virtually extinct, dated years from the mythological founding of Rome, 21 April, 753 BC. The first year was thus 1 AUC (ab urbe condita or anno urbis conditae; "from the city being founded", or "in the year of the foundation of the city"). Reckoning days by this calendar is complex and no longer in use, but the calendar continues on today as 2759 AUC in 2006.

• The Discordian calendar follows the CE numbering plus 1166. Presumable because of the Curse of Greyface that occurred in 1166 BCE. As a reference, 2006 is 3172 YOLD (Year of Our Lady of Discord) in the Discordian calender.

See also

• Calendar reform

References

1. For example: "In this publication, instead of the traditional “A.D.” and “B.C.,” the more accurate “C.E.” (Common Era) and “B.C.E.” (before the Common Era) are used." - The Bible—God’s Word or Man’s?, p. 16 footnote, published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.

External links

• The use of "CE" and "BCE" to identify dates (Religious Tolerance.org)
• Whatever happened to B.C. and A.D., and why? (United Church of Christ)
• Victor Mair: The need for a new era
• NASA: Year dating conventions
• Associated Press: P.C. scholars take Christ out of B.C.
• The Columbia Guide to Standard American English (1993): A.D., B.C., (A.)C.E., B.C.E.

• Calendars