Common Era

Common Era (also Current Era^[1] or Christian Era^[2]), abbreviated as CE, is an alternative naming of the traditional calendar era, Anno Domini (abbreviated AD).^{[3] [4]} BCE is the abbreviation for Before the Common/Current/Christian Era (an alternative to Before Christ, abbreviated BC). The CE/BCE designation uses the year-numbering system introduced by the 6th-century Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus, who started the Anno Domini designation, intending the beginning of the life of Jesus^[5] to be the reference date.^[6][7] Neither notation includes a year zero,^[8] and the two notations (CE/BCE and AD/BC) are numerically equivalent; thus "2014 CE" corresponds to "AD 2014", and "399 BCE" corresponds to "399 BC".

The expression "Common Era" can be found as early as 1708 in English,^[9] and traced back to Latin usage among European Christians to 1615, as vulgaris aerae,^[10] and to 1635 in English as Vulgar Era. At those times, the expressions were all used interchangeably with "Christian Era", with "vulgar" meaning "ordinary, common, or not regal" rather than "crudely indecent". Use of the CE abbreviation was introduced by Jewish academics in the mid-19th century. Since the later 20th century, use of CE and BCE has been popularized in academic and scientific publications, and more generally by publishers emphasizing secularism or sensitivity to non-Christians.

The Gregorian calendar and the year-numbering system associated with it is the calendar system with most widespread use in the world today. For decades, it has been the global standard, recognized by international institutions such as the United Nations and the Universal Postal Union.

The CE/BCE notation has been adopted by some authors and publishers wishing to be neutral or sensitive to non-Christians^[11][12][13] because it does not explicitly make use of religious titles for Jesus, such as "Christ" and Domin- ("Lord"), which are used in the BC/AD notation, nor does it give implicit expression to the Christian creed that Jesus was the Christ.^{[11][14][15][16][17]}

Among the reasons given by those who oppose the use of Common Era notation is that it is selective as other aspects of the Western calendar have origins in various belief systems (e.g., January is named for Janus),^[18] and claims that its propagation is the result of secularization, anti-supernaturalism, religious pluralism, and political correctness.^[19][20][21]

History

Origins

The year numbering system used with Common Era notation was devised by the Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus in the year 525 to replace the Era of Martyrs system, because he did not wish to continue the memory of a tyrant who persecuted Christians.^[22] He attempted to number years from an event he referred to as the Incarnation of Jesus,^[22] although scholars today generally agree that he miscalculated by a small number of years.^[23][24] Dionysius labeled the column of the Easter table in which he introduced the new era "Anni Domini Nostri Jesu Christi".^[25] Numbering years in this manner became more widespread with its usage by Bede in England in 731. Bede also introduced the practice of dating years before the supposed year of birth^[26] of Jesus, and the practice of not using a year zero.^[27] In 1422, Portugal became the last Western European country to switch to the system begun by Dionysius.^[28]

Use of the term "vulgar era"

The term "Common Era" is traced back in English to its appearance as "Vulgar Era"^[29] to distinguish it from the regnal dating systems typically used in national law. The first use of the Latin equivalent (vulgaris aerae)^[30] discovered so far was in a 1615 book by Johannes Kepler.^[10] Kepler uses it again in a 1616 table of ephemerides,^[31] and again in 1617.^[32] A 1635 English edition of that book has the title page in English – so far, the earliest-found usage of Vulgar Era in English.^[33] A 1701 book edited by John LeClerc includes "Before Christ according to the Vulgar Æra, 6".^[34] A 1716 book in English by Dean Humphrey Prideaux says, "before the beginning of the vulgar æra, by which we now compute the years from his incarnation."^[35][36] A 1796 book uses the term "vulgar era of the nativity".^[37]

The first so-far-discovered usage of "Christian Era" is as the Latin phrase aerae christianae on the title page of a 1584 theology book.^[38] In 1649, the Latin phrase æræ Christianæ appeared in the title of an English almanac.^[39] A 1652 ephemeris is the first instance so-far-found for English usage of "Christian Era".^[40]

The English phrase "common Era" appears at least as early as 1708,^[9] and in a 1715 book on astronomy is used interchangeably with "Christian Era" and "Vulgar Era".^[41] A 1759 history book uses common æra in a generic sense, to refer to the common era of the Jews.^[42] The first-so-far found usage of the phrase "before the common era" is in a 1770 work that also uses common era and vulgar era as synonyms, in a translation of a book originally written in German.^[43] The 1797 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica uses the terms vulgar era and common era synonymously.^[44] 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",^[45] and also refers to the common era as a synonym for vulgar era with "the fact that our Lord was born on the 4th year before the vulgar era, called Anno Domini, thus making (for example) the 42d year from his birth to correspond with the 38th of the common era..."^[46] The Catholic Encyclopedia (1909) used the terms "Christian, Vulgar or Common Era" interchangeably.^[47]

The phrase "common era", in lower case, also appeared in the 19th century in a generic sense, not necessarily to refer to the Christian Era, but to any system of dates in common use throughout a civilization. Thus, "the common era of the Jews",^[48][49] "the common era of the Mahometans",^[50] "common era of the world",^[51] "the common era of the foundation of Rome".^[52] When it did refer to the Christian Era, it was sometimes qualified, e.g., "common era of the Incarnation",^[53] "common era of the Nativity",^[54] or "common era of the birth of Christ".^[55]

An adapted translation of Common Era into pseudo-Latin as Era Vulgaris (in Latin this means Common Mistress)^[56] was adopted in the 20th century by some followers of Aleister Crowley, and thus the abbreviation "e.v." or "EV" may sometimes be seen as a replacement for AD.^[57]

History of the use of the CE/BCE abbreviation

Although Jews have their own Hebrew calendar, they often use the Gregorian calendar.^[58]

As early as 1825, the abbreviation VE (for Vulgar Era) was in use among Jews to denote years on the Western calendar.^[59]

Common Era notation has also been in use for Hebrew lessons for "more than a century".^[60] Some Jewish academics were already using the CE and BCE abbreviations by the mid-19th century, such as in 1856, when Rabbi and historian Morris Jacob Raphall used the abbreviation in his book, Post-Biblical History of The Jews.^[61]

The ratio of usage of BCE to BC,^[62] CE to AD,^[63] Common Era to Anno Domini,^[64] and Before Common Era to Before Christ^[65] in books has changed dramatically between the years 1800 and 2008, particularly since 1980, with the CE-related variants increasing in usage.

Contemporary usage

Some academics in the fields of theology, education and history have adopted CE and BCE notation, although there is some disagreement.^[66] The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, which is the leading publishing body of Jehovah's Witnesses, has been using CE and BCE exclusively in its publications (except in quotations and in The Watchtower—Simplified English Edition) since The Watchtower of 15 April 1964.^[67][68][69]

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.^[70] Furthermore, several style guides now prefer or mandate its usage.^[71] Even some style guides for Christian churches prefer its use: for example, the Episcopal Diocese Maryland Church News.^[72]

In the United States, the usage of the BCE/CE notation in textbooks is growing.^[60] Some publications have moved over to using it exclusively. For example, the 2007 World Almanac was the first edition to switch over to the BCE/CE usage, ending a 138-year usage of the traditional BC/AD dating notation. It is used by the College Board in its history tests,^[73] and by the Norton Anthology of English Literature. Others have taken a different approach. The US-based History Channel uses BCE/CE notation in articles on non-Christian religious topics such as Jerusalem and Judaism.^[74] In June 2006, the Kentucky State School Board reversed its decision that would have included the designations BCE and CE as part of state law, leaving education of students about these concepts a matter of discretion at the local level.^[75][76][77]

In 2002, the BCE/CE notation system was introduced into the school curriculum in England and Wales.^[78] In 2011 in the UK, the BBC announced it would be using CE/BCE notation on its programmes and website, permitting usage of either notation.^[79] Numerous British universities, museums, historians, and book retailers have either dropped BC and AD entirely or are using it alongside the BCE/CE notation.^[80] Also in 2011, media reports suggested that the BC/AD notation in Australian school textbooks would be replaced by BCE/CE notation.^[81] The story became national news and drew opposition from some politicians and church leaders. Weeks after the story broke, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority denied the rumour and stated that the BC/AD notation would remain, with CE and BCE as an optional suggested learning activity.^[82]

Rationale

Support

With respect to the use of CE in Jewish scholarship, it was historically motivated by the desire to avoid the implicit "Our Lord" in the abbreviation AD. Although other aspects of dating systems are based in Christian origins too, AD stands out as a particularly direct reference to Jesus as Lord.

Proponents of the Common Era notation assert that the use of BCE/CE shows sensitivity to those who use the same year numbering system as the one that originated with and is currently used by Christians, but who are not themselves Christian.^[83] Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan argued, "[T]he Christian calendar no longer belongs exclusively to Christians. People of all faiths have taken to using it simply as a matter of convenience. There is so much interaction between people of different faiths and cultures – different civilizations, if you like – that some shared way of reckoning time is a necessity. And so the Christian Era has become the Common Era."^[84]

It has been noted that the label Anno Domini is arguably inaccurate; "scholars generally believe that Christ was born some years before A.D. 1, the historical evidence is too sketchy to allow a definitive dating."^[85]

Opposition

Some oppose the Common Era notation for explicitly religious reasons. Because the BC/AD notation is based on the traditional year of the conception or birth of Jesus of Nazareth, removing reference to him in era notation is offensive to some Christians.^[86]

The Southern Baptist Convention supports retaining the BC/AD abbreviations as "a reminder of the preeminence of Christ and His gospel in world history".^[19] The Convention has criticized the use of BCE and CE as being the result of "secularization, anti-supernaturalism, religious pluralism, and political correctness" and encourages its members to "retain the traditional method of dating and avoid this revisionism".^[19]

There are also secular concerns. English language expert Kenneth G. Wilson speculated in his style guide that "if we do end by casting aside the A.D./B.C. convention, almost certainly some will argue that we ought to cast aside as well the conventional numbering system [that is, the method of numbering years] itself, given its Christian basis."^[87] The short lived French Revolutionary Calendar, for example, began with the first year of the First French Republic and rejected the seven-day week (with its connections to Genesis) for a ten-day week.

Astrobiologist Duncan Steel argues further that if one is going to replace BC/AD with BCE/CE then one should reject all aspects of the dating system (including time of day, days of the week and months of the year), as they all have origins related to pagan, astrological, Jewish, or Christian beliefs. He rejects secular arguments against Christian-based BC/AD as selective. Steel makes note of the consistency of the Quaker system (now rarely used), which removed all such references.^[18][83]

Anthropologist Carol Delaney argues that the substitution of BC/AD to BCE/CE is merely a euphemism that conceals the political implications without modifying the actual source of contention.^[88][89]

Raimon Panikkar contends that using the designation BCE/CE is a "return... to the most bigoted Christian colonialism" towards non-Christians, who do not necessarily consider the time period following the beginning of the calendar to be a "common era".^[90]

Some critics assert that the use of identifiers which have common spellings is more ambiguous than the use of identifiers with divergent spellings. Both CE and BCE have in common the letters "CE", which is more likely to cause confusion, they claim, than identifiers with clearly different spelling.^[83]

Internet reaction

According to a Los Angeles Times report, it was a student's use of BCE/CE notation, inspired by its use within Wikipedia, which prompted the history teacher Andrew Schlafly to found Conservapedia, a cultural conservative wiki.^[91] One of its "Conservapedia Commandments" is that users must always apply BC/AD notation, since its sponsors perceive BCE/CE notation to "deny the historical basis" of the dating system.^[92]

Conventions in style guides

The abbreviation BCE, just as with BC, always follows the year number. Unlike AD, which traditionally precedes the year number, CE always follows the year number (if context requires that it be written at all).^[87] Thus, the current year is written as 2014 in both notations (or, if further clarity is needed, as 2014 CE, or as AD 2014), and the year that Socrates died is represented as 399 BCE (the same year that is represented by 399 BC in the BC/AD notation). The abbreviations are sometimes written with small capital letters, or with periods (e.g., "BCE" or "C.E.").^[93] Style guides for academic texts on religion generally prefer BCE/CE to BC/AD.^[94]

The terms "Common Era", "Anno Domini", "Before the Common Era", and "Before Christ" in contemporary English can be applied to dates that rely on either the Julian calendar or the Gregorian calendar. Modern dates are understood in the Western world to be in the Gregorian calendar, but for older dates writers should specify the calendar used. Dates in the Gregorian calendar in the Western world have always used the era designated in English as Anno Domini or Common Era.

Similar conventions in other languages

Several languages other than English also have both religious and non-religious ways of identifying the era used in dates. In some communist states during the Cold War period, usage of non-religious notation was mandated.

• In Angola, the abbreviations "E.C." ("Era Comum", Common Era) and "A.E.C." ("Antes da Era Comum", Before Common Era) is generally used.
• In Arabic, بعد الميلاد (After the Birth) corresponds to CE, while قبل الميلاد (Before the Birth) corresponds to BCE. The "Birth" referenced is that of Jesus. This system is in widespread use in all Arab countries, but is accompanied by the Hijri system. Dates are often given in both in that order. In Saudi Arabia, however, the Hijri System is predominant.
• In the Chinese language, common era (公元, Gong yuan) has been predominantly used to refer to the western calendar without any religious connotation.
• In Finland, the terms eKr. (ennen Kristusta, before Christ) and jKr. (jälkeen Kristuksen, after Christ) were largely used until the 1980s but have been mostly replaced during the last couple of decades with terms eaa. (ennen ajanlaskun alkua, before start of chronology) and jaa. (jälkeen ajanlaskun alun, after start of chronology).
• In Germany, Enlightened Jews in Berlin seem to have already been using "(Before the) Common Era" in the 18th century, while others like Moses Mendelssohn opposed this usage as it would hinder the integration of Jews into German society.^[95] The formulation seems to have persisted among German Jews in the 19th century in forms like vor der gewöhnlichen Zeitrechnung (before the common chronology).^[96][97]

In 1938 Nazi Germany, the use of this convention was also prescribed by the National Socialist Teachers League, apparently because the Christian and Roman chronology were not "Germanic" enough.^[98]

However, it was soon discovered that many German Jews had been using the convention ever since the 18th century, and they found it ironic to see "Aryans following Jewish example nearly 200 years later".^[95]

The German Democratic Republic (1949-1990) introduced the convention of v. u. Z. (vor unserer Zeitrechnung, before our chronology) and u. Z. (unserer Zeitrechnung, of our chronology) instead of v. Chr. (vor Christus, before Christ) and n. Chr. (nach Christus/Christi Geburt, after Christ/the Nativity of Christ). The use of these terms persists in contemporary German to some extent, differing regionally and ideologically. In Jewish contexts mostly "v. d. Z." ("vor der Zeitenwende") and "n. d. Z." ("nach der Zeitenwende") is used.^{[citation needed]}

• In Hebrew, the most common term used to refer to BCE/CE is simply לספירה (according to the count) for CE, and לפני הספירה (before the count) for BCE. An alternative term, expressing an ideological (sometimes religious) approach aimed at distancing oneself from the source of the count, is למניינם (according to their count). The later is sometimes added after the former, especially in the case of BCE (e.g. שנת 150 לפני הספירה למנינם), due to technical linguistic reasons.^{[citation needed]}
• In Hungary, similarly to the Bulgarian case, i. e. (időszámításunk előtt, before our era) and i. sz. (időszámításunk szerint, according to our era) are still widely used instead of traditional Kr. e. (Krisztus előtt, Before Christ) and Kr. u. (Krisztus után, After Christ), which were unofficially reinstituted after the Communist period.
• In Indonesia, the terms SM. (Sebelum Masehi, before Masehi, from Arabic word of Masih, referred to Jesus) and M. (Masehi, after Masehi) were generally used.
• In Japanese, years reckoned by the Western calendar as opposed to the Japanese Imperial eras are indicated by, for example, 西暦2013年, where 西暦 (seireki) literally means "Western calendar" which carries no religious connotation, aside from the fact that Christianity is a Western religion. As in Korean, 紀元前 (kigenzen) is used to mean "before the common era (BCE)." "A.D.", and less commonly, "C.E.", are also occasionally seen, but the typical Japanese person would not know about the religious connotations or lack of in these terms.
• In Korean, 기원전(紀元前), which means "preceding the [Western] era", is used to indicate years B.C.E. 서기(西紀), "Western era", short for 서력기원(西暦紀元), meaning "[from] the origin year of the Western calendar", is used to indicate years C.E. Christians use 주후, meaning "after [the birth of] the Lord", as a shorthand calque of Anno Domini.
• In Poland the only term generally used is naszej ery/przed naszą erą (of our era/before our era). The terms przed Chrystusem/po Chrystusie (before Christ/after Christ) are possible but nearly never used in contemporary Poland.
• In Romania, throughout most of the communist period, the preferred standard was to use the secularised î. e. n. (înaintea erei noastre, before our era) and e. n. (era noastră, our era). After the downfall of Communism and the 1989 revolution, the original convention using î. Hr. (înainte de Hristos, before Christ) and d. Hr. (după Hristos, after Christ) has become more widespread. Alternatively, î. Cr. and d. Cr. are used, mainly due to an alternative spelling of Hristos (Christ) as Cristos, the latter being preferred by the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches.
• In Russia, the terms до н.э. (до нашей эры, before our era) and н.э. (нашей эры, our era) are often used. Their use was nearly universal during the Soviet rule, and while their use in mass media has considerably declined and has been replaced by their Christian equivalents, the BCE/CE terms remain the strongly preferred version in scientific literature, business magazines and other "serious" texts.
• In Spanish, EC (Era Común) is used for CE, while AEC (antes de la Era Común) is equivalent to BCE.^[99]
• In Swedish the terms f.Kr. (före Kristus, before Christ) and e.Kr. (efter Kristus, after Christ) have traditionally been used. They are seldomly replaced by f.v.t. and e.v.t. (före/efter vår tidräkning, before/after our chronology).
• In Welsh, OC can be expanded to equivalents of both AD (Oed Crist) and CE (Oes Cyffredin); for dates before the Common Era, CC (traditionally, Cyn Crist) is used exclusively, as Cyn yr Oes Cyffredin would abbreviate to a mild obscenity.^[100]

See also

• Ante Christum Natum
• Before present
• Calendar
• Calendar era
• Calendar reform
• Human Era
• List of calendars

Notes and references

External links

Look up Common_Era#Translations in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Whatever happened to B.C. and A.D., and why? (United Church of Christ)
• From Our Readers—Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY (Jehovah's Witnesses)

v t e Time Key concepts Past history deep time Present Future futurology Eternity arguments for Eternal return Immortality Linear time  Time portal Measurement and standards Chronometry UTC UT TAI Unit of time Planck time Second Minute Hour Day Week Month Year Decade Century Millennium Tropical year Solar year Sidereal year Systems of measurement Time zone 12-hour clock 24-hour clock Daylight saving time Solar time Sidereal time Metric time Decimal time Hexadecimal time Calendars Gregorian Julian Hebrew Islamic Lunar Solar Hijri Mayan Intercalation Leap second Leap year Clocks Astrarium History of timekeeping devices Horology Marine chronometer Sundial Water clock Atomic clock Quantum clock Chronology / history / archaeology / geology Astronomical chronology  /  Calendar era Chronicle Timeline Periodization Regnal year Big History  /  Dating methodologies  /  Geological time Geochronology Geological history Deep time Eon Era Period Epoch Age Chron Religion and mythology Dreamtime Kāla Kalachakra Prophecy Time and fate deities Wheel of time Philosophy A-series and B-series B-theory of time Causality Duration Endurantism Eternal return Eternalism Event Perdurantism Presentism Temporal finitism Temporal parts The Unreality of Time Physics Absolute time and space Arrow of time Chronon Coordinate time Planck epoch Planck time Proper time Rate Spacetime Theory of relativity Time dilation gravitational Time domain T-symmetry Biology / psychology / sociology / economics / accounting / management Chronobiology Circadian rhythms  /  Mental chronometry Specious present Time perception  /  Time discipline  /  Time use research Time value of money Time-based currency Time banking Term  /  Accounting period Fiscal year  /  Time management Punctuality Procrastination Time clock Timesheet Time tracking software Related topics Carpe diem Clock position Space System time Tempus fugit Time capsule Time signature Time travel