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Common Era

  (kŏm'ən) pronunciation
n. (Abbr. C.E.)

The period coinciding with the Christian era.


 
 
WordNet: Common Era
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: the time period beginning with the year of Christ's birth
  Synonym: Christian Era

 
Wikipedia: Common Era
"BCE" redirects here. For other uses, see BCE (disambiguation).
"Era Vulgaris" redirects here. For the Queens of the Stone Age album, see Era Vulgaris (album).

Common Era, also known as Current Era or Christian Era, abbreviated CE, [1][2][3][4] is a designation for the period of time beginning with year 1 of the Gregorian calendar. An earlier date is then designated BCE, described as "Before the Common, Current, or Christian Era".[5] The numbering of years is identical to the numbering in the Anno Domini system, neither system using a year zero.[6]

The only difference between "BC/AD" and "BCE/CE" is that the term Common Era does not use the religious titles for Jesus ("Lord" and "Christ") that are explicit in "anno Domini" and "before Christ". Originating among Christians as early as 1716 (at first in Latin), Common Era notation has been adopted by many non-Christians, and also by some Christians wanting to be sensitive to non-Christians.[7] The use of BCE and CE has been criticized by some who favor the AD/BC system as being "the result of secularization" and "political correctness".[8]

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).[9] Thus, the current year is written as 2007 in both systems (or, if further clarity is needed, as 2007 CE, or as AD 2007), and the year Socrates died is represented as 399 BCE (the same year that is represented by 399 BC in the AD/BC system). The abbreviations are sometimes written with small capital letters, or with periods (e.g., "BCE" or "C.E.").[10]

Origins

Main article: Anno Domini

The practice of dating years based on either Jesus' birth or the Annunciation, when Archangel Gabriel foretold Jesus' birth to his mother, Mary, was devised in the year 525 by the monk Dionysius Exiguus, who named it "anno Domini" ("in the year of the Lord"). Two centuries later, the Anglo-Saxon historian Bede used another Latin term ("ante incarnationis dominicae tempus" — "the time before the Lord's incarnation"), equivalent to the English "before Christ", to identify years before the first year of this era. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, even popes continued to date documents according to regnal years, and usage of AD only gradually became more common in Europe from the eleventh to the fourteenth century.[11]

The term "Common Era" originally appeared in Latin as Era vulgaris (from vulgus, the common people). (The abbreviations "EV" has even been adopted by some groups.)[12]. A 1716 book by Dean Humphrey 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" and also refers to the common era as a synonym for vulgar era.[13][14] In its article on General 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."[15]

The phrase "common era" was used with its modern meaning at least as early as 1770.[16] Sometime in the 1800s, "vulgar" came to mean "crudely indecent" and the Latin word was replaced by its English equivalent, "common". During the 1800s, the phrase "common era", in lower case, was frequently used 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,"[17][18] "the common era of the Mahometans,"[19] "the common era of the foundation of Rome."[20] When it did refer to the Christian Era, it was sometimes qualified, e.g., "the common era of the Nativity of Our Lord"[21] or "the common era of the birth of our Saviour."[22]

Some Jewish academics were already using the BCE abbreviation by the mid-1800's, such as in 1856, when Rabbi and historian, Morris Jacob Raphall used the abbreviation in his book, Post-Biblical History of The Jews.

Other associations

Usage of the original Latin term Era Vulgaris and the idea that it originally signified a decadent age that rejects morality persists in some circles. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the phrase became incorporated into Satanism and some forms of neo-paganism because of its alleged designation of an amoral age and its alleged rejection of "Christ". For example, some followers of Aleister Crowley use abbreviations of Era vulgaris as replacements for BC and AD.[23] The third essay in the Satanic Bible presents the idea of the New Satanic Age that borrows from the idea of the Era vulgaris.[24]

Usage

The terms "Common Era", "Anno Domini", "Before the Common Era" and "Before Christ" can be applied to dates that rely on either the Julian calendar or the Gregorian calendar. Modern dates are understood to be in the Gregorian calendar, but for older dates writers should specify the calendar used. Dates in the Gregorian calendar have always used the Common Era, but over the millennia a wide variety of eras have been used with the Julian calendar.

Although Jews have their own Jewish Calendar, they often find it convenient to use the Gregorian Calendar as well. The reasons for some using Common Era notation are described below:

Jews do not generally use the words "A.D." and "B.C." to refer to the years on the Gregorian calendar. "A.D." means "the year of our L-rd," and we do not believe Jesus is the L-rd. Instead, we use the abbreviations C.E. (Common or Christian Era) and B.C.E. (Before the Common Era).[25]

Indeed, Common Era notation has also been in use for Hebrew lessons for "more than a century".[26]

Some American academics in the fields of education and history have adopted CE and BCE notation although there is some disagreement.[27] The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, which is the leading publishing body of the Jehovah's Witnesses, uses CE and BCE exclusively in its publications.[28] 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.[29] Furthermore, several style guides now prefer or mandate its usage.[30] Even some style guides for Christian churches prefer its use: for example, the Episcopal Diocese Maryland Church News.[31]

In the United States, the usage of the BCE/CE notation in textbooks is growing.[26] 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 system. It is used by the College Board in its history tests,[32] by the Norton Anthology of English Literature, and by the United States Naval Observatory.[33] 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[34] and uses BC (but neither CE nor AD) in other cases.[35] Whereas, in June 2006, the Kentucky State School Board reversed its decision that would have included the designations BCE (Before the Common Era) and CE (Common Era) in referring to dates.[36]

In some formerly Communist, predominantly Christian societies, the designation New Era (or Our Era) was encouraged by Communist authorities to replace BC and AD. In Bulgaria, for example, пр.н.е. (преди новата ера, before the new era, or преди нашата ера, before our era) and н.е. (от новата ера, of the new era, or от нашата ера, of our era) are still widely used by atheists/agnostics instead of traditional пр.Хр. (преди Христа, BC) and сл.Хр. (след Христа, after Christ), which were unofficially reinstituted after the Communist period.[citation needed] The Chinese use the term "Common Era (公元)."

Arguments for and against usage of BCE notation

A range of arguments exist both for and against the use of CE and BCE in place of AD and BC.

Support

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

Arguments given for changing to the Common Era designation include:

  • The label Anno Domini is almost certainly 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."[37]
  • It is simple to change from BC/AD to BCE/CE notation, since the years are numbered identically in both (e.g., 33 BC becomes 33 BCE), Documents with years that do not have AD designation do not need to be changed at all (e.g., 1066 remains 1066 in AD and in CE systems).[38]
  • Both BCE and CE are used as suffixes, unlike BC/AD where BC is used as a suffix and AD as a prefix. This can be beneficial for computer usage.[38]
  • Use of BCE and CE shows sensitivity to those who agree to use the same calendar, but are not Christian.[39]
  • Evidence that AD and BC have not lost their religious significance is the fact that much of the opposition, some of it intense, to switching to usage of CE and BCE has been on religious grounds.[40]

Opposition

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

  • While a person using BC/AD may not hold Christian beliefs, the calendar itself has Christian roots. The substitution of BCE/CE for BC/AD can be perceived as offensive. [41]
  • Since the calendar in use has Christian roots, the alteration of BC/AD to BCE/CE partially effaces an important contribution of Christianity to world culture. [42]
  • The use of BCE/CE may be seen as a type of intolerance in its own right, as non-Christians seek to remove reference to the religious figure upon whom the calendar's years are based.[43]
  • The BCE/CE promotion distracts from the adoption of the system already used by astronomers, i.e. 0 for 1 BC, -1 for 2 BC, etc., which does resolve this problem and does not use any of the contentious acronyms.[44]
  • "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 itself, given its Christian basis."[45]
  • It is inconsistent to remove this "religious" reference from our nomenclature and not remove other religiously derived words such as the days of the week and months of the year which are named after various pagan deities: January = Janus' month, Wednesday = Wotan's day, Thursday = Thor's day, Friday = Freya's day, et cetera.[46]
  • The use of identifiers which have common spellings is more ambiguous than the use of identifiers with divergent spellings. Both C.E. and B.C.E. have in common the letters "C.E.", which is more likely to cause confusion than identifiers with clearly different spelling.[46]

See also

  • Calendar era, for an outline of different dating systems that have been or are currently used throughout the world
  • Calendar reform
  • Within the context of archeology and geology, one also encounters the term Before present (also known as before physics) with the abbreviation BP to indicate dates in years before 1950.

Notes

  1. ^ BBC Team (2005-02-08). History of Judaism 63BCE-1086CE. BBC Religion & Ethics. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved on 2007-09-08. “Year 1: CE – What is nowadays called the 'Current Era' traditionally begins with the birth of a Jewish teacher called Jesus. His followers came to believe he was the promised Messiah and later split away from Judaism to found Christianity”
  2. ^ wiseGEEK (2007). What is the Difference Between the Western, Islamic, and Jewish calendars?. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
  3. ^ Dictionaries: Common Era
    •   "Common Era". Collins Dictionary of the English Language. (1980). London &
    Glasgow: Collins. ISBN 0 00 433080-3. “Com+mon E·ra n. another name for Christian Era.” 
    Dictionary.com The American Heritage® Science Dictionary. (© 2002). Houghton Mifflin. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. “Common Era – The period beginning with the year traditionally thought to have been birth of Jesus.”
    •   "
    target="wpext">Common Era". Merriam Webster Online Dictionary. (2003). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. “Main Entry: Common Era – Function: noun – Date: 1846 – : christian era” 
    Dictionary.com The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. (2004). Houghton Mifflin. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. “Com·mon Era – n. Abbr. C.E. – The period coinciding with the Christian era.”
    Dictionary.com Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). (© 2006). Random House. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. “Common Era – –noun Christian Era.”
    Dictionary.com WordNet® 3.0. (© 2006). Princeton University. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. “common era – adverb – 1. of the period coinciding with the Christian era; preferred by some writers who are not Christians; 'in 200 CE' [syn: CE] — noun – 1. the time period beginning with the supposed year of Christ's birth [syn: Christian era]”
  4. ^ Dictionaries: CE
    The American Heritage® Science Dictionary. (© 2002). Houghton Mifflin. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. “CE – Abbreviation for Common Era.”
    •   "
    "wpext">CE". Merriam Webster Online Dictionary. (2003). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. “Main Entry: CE – Function: abbreviation – 3 Christian Era —often punctuated; Common Era —often punctuated” 
    •   "C.E.". Collins Dictionary of the English Language. (1980). London & Glasgow:
    Collins. ISBN 0 00 433080-3. “C.E. 5. Common Era.” 
    Dictionary.com American Heritage Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition. (© 2005). Houghton Mifflin. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. “C.E. – 4. Common Era”
    Dictionary.com Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). (© 2006). Random House. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. “C.E. – 5. common era.”
    "http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/c.e." class='external text' target="wpext">"c.e.". Dictionary.com WordNet® 3.0. (© 2006). Princeton University. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. “ce, c.e. – adverb – 1. of the period coinciding with the Christian era; preferred by some writers who are not Christians; 'in 200 CE' [syn: CE]” – WP editorial note: the source does not mention any suffix like "[syn: CE]" for entry "ce" as shown for entry "c.e.".
  5. ^ Dictionaries: BCE
    The American Heritage® Science Dictionary. (© 2002). Houghton Mifflin. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. “BCE – Abbreviation for before the Common Era.”
    •   "
    "wpext">BCE". Merriam Webster Online Dictionary. (2003). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. “Main Entry: BCE – Function: abbreviation – 3 before the Christian Era —often punctuated; before the Common Era —often punctuated” 
    •   "B.C.E.". Collins Dictionary of the English Language. (1980). London &
    Glasgow: Collins. ISBN 0 00 433080-3. “B.C.E. abbrev. for Before Common Era (used, esp. by non-Christians, in numbering years B.C.” 
    Dictionary.com American Heritage Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition. (© 2005). Houghton Mifflin. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. “B.C.E. – Before the Common Era”
    Dictionary.com The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. (2005). Houghton Mifflin. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. “B.C.E. – An abbreviation sometimes used in place of b.c. It means 'before the Common Era.' – [Chapter:] Conventions of Written English”
    Dictionary.com Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). (© 2006). Random House. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. “B.C.E. – 4. before (the) Common (or Christian) Era.”
    "http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/b.c.e." class='external text' target="wpext">"b.c.e.". Dictionary.com WordNet® 3.0. (© 2006). Princeton University. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. “bce, b.c.e. – adverb – of the period before the Common Era; preferred by some writers who are not Christians; "in 200 BCE" [syn: BCE]” – WP editorial note: the source does not mention any suffix like "[syn: BCE]" for entry "bce" as shown for entry "b.c.e.".
  6. ^ Two separate systems that also do not use religious titles, the astronomical system and the ISO 8601 standard do use a year zero. The year 1 BCE (identical to the year 1 BC) is represented as 0 in the astronomical system, and as 0000 in ISO 8601.
  7. ^ Andrew Herrmann. "BCE date designation called more sensitive", Chicago Sun-Times, 2006-05-27. Retrieved on 2007-06-15. “Herrmann observes, "The changes — showing up at museums, in academic circles and in school textbooks — have been touted as more sensitive to people of faiths outside of Christianity." However, Herrmann notes, "The use of BCE and CE have rankled some Christians” .
  8. ^ Southern Baptist Convention 2000, Resolution 9
  9. ^ Wilson, Kenneth G. (1993). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English – A.D., B.C., (A.)C.E., B.C.E.. Retrieved on 2007-06-16.
  10. ^ Major Rule Changes in The Chicago Manual of Style, Fifteenth Edition. University of Chicago Press (15th ed.: 2003). Retrieved on 2007-09-12. “Certain abbreviations traditionally set in small caps are now in full caps (AD, BCE, and the like), with small caps an option.”
  11. ^ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03738a.htm
  12. ^ The Thelemic Calendar. Thelema Home Page. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
  13. ^ http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/acampbell/tlo4/TLO400L4.HTM
  14. ^ http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/acampbell/tlo4/TLO400L3.HTM
  15. ^ General Chronology. Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
  16. ^ Hooper, William; Bielfeld, Jacob Friedrich (1770). The Elements of Universal Eurdition (v. 2). London: G. Scott, printer, for J Robson, bookseller in New-Bond Street, and B. Law in Ave-Mary Lane, 105. Retrieved on 2007-09-13. 
  17. ^ the common era of the Jews places the creation in BC 3760. The Popular Encyclopedia (1884).
  18. ^ Rev. Bourchier Wrey Savile, MA (1858). The first and second Advent: or, The past and the future with reference to the Jew, the Gentile, and the Church of God. London: Wertheim, Macintosh and Hunt. , p. 176: "Hence the present year, 1858, in the common era of the Jews, is AM 5618-5619, a difference of more than 200 years from our commonly-received chronology."
  19. ^ Johannes von Gumpach (1856). Practical tables for the reduction of Mahometan dates to the Christian calendar.  p. 2: "The common era of the Mahometans, as has already been stated, is that of the flight of Mahomet."
  20. ^ Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee (1854). Universal History: From the Creation of the World to the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century. Boston: Fetridge and Company. , p. 284
  21. ^ James Henthorn Todd (1864). St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, A Memoir of his Life and Mission. Dublin: Hodges, Smith & Co, Publishers to the University. , p. 497: "It should be observed, however, that these years correspond to 492 and 493, a portion of the annals of Ulster being counted from the Incarnation, and being, therefore, one year before the common era of the Nativity of our Lord."
  22. ^ William Smith (1870). A smaller Scripture history. London: John Albemarle. , p. 216, ""
  23. ^ Era vulgaris. Thelemapedia: The Encyclopaedia of Thelema and Magick. Retrieved on 2007-07-24.
  24. ^ The Satanic Bible
  25. ^ Jewish Calendar: Numbering of Jewish Years. Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
  26. ^ a b Michael Gormley. " "Use of B.C. and A.D. faces changing times"]", Houston Chronicle, 24 April 2005, p. A–13. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.  (Registration required.)
  27. ^ See, for example, the Society for Historical Archaeology state in their more recent style guide "Do not use C.E. (current era) ... or B.C.E.; convert these expressions to A.D. and B.C."Society for Historical Archaeology (December 2006). Style Guide. Retrieved on August 29, 2007.. Whereas the American Anthropological Association style guideAmerican Anthropological Society (January 2003). AAA Style Guide. Retrieved on September 9, 2006. takes a different approach.
  28. ^ [1] [2] Also see, for example, comment "In this publication, instead of the traditional 'AD' and 'BC', the more accurate 'CE' (Common Era) and 'BCE' (before the Common Era) are used." in The Bible — God's Word or Man's?, p. 16 footnote, published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
  29. ^ Smithsonian Institute. World History Standards. Smithsonian Education. Retrieved on September 9, 2006.
  30. ^ "Submission Guidelines for The Ostracon". The Ostracon — Journal of the Egyptian Studies Society Retrieved on September 9, 2006. “For dates, please use the now-standard "BCE-CE" notation, rather than "BC-AD." Authors with strong religious preferences may use "BC-AD," however.” 
    - "Contributer Guidelines". The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies Retrieved on August 10, 2007. “All dates should be in the format BCE/CE, unless in quoted material.” 
    - "Author Guidelines". American Journal of Philology Retrieved on August 10, 2007. “Eras and dates. The journal prefers B.C.E., C.E., 12 December 1999.” 
    - Manuscript Submission Guidelines. Retrieved on August 10, 2007. “we prefer BCE, CE”
    - "Style Guide" (DOC). Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies Retrieved on August 10, 2007. “Please use BCE (Before Current Era) and CE (Current Era) rather than B.C. and A.D.” 
  31. ^ Maryland Church News Submission Guide & Style Manual (PDF). Maryland Church News (2005-04-01). Retrieved on September 9, 2006.
  32. ^ AP: World History. Retrieved on September 9, 2006.
  33. ^ Introduction to Calendars. U. S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department (2004-10-15). Retrieved on September 9, 2006.
  34. ^ Jerusalem Timeline. History Channel. Retrieved on September 9, 2006.;Jerusalem: Biographies. History Channel. Retrieved on September 9, 2006.
  35. ^ History Channel Timeline. History Channel. Retrieved on September 9, 2006.
  36. ^ State School Board reverses itself on B.C./A.D. controversy. Family Foundation of Kentucky. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
  37. ^ Doggett, L. (1992). "Calendars", in P. Kenneth Seidelmann: Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac. Sausalito, CA: University Science Books, 579. ISBN 0-935702-68-7. 
  38. ^ a b Fred Espenak. Year dating conventions. NASA. Retrieved on 2007-09-07. “Fortunately, there is an alternative which preserves the year numbering established by Exiguus and now an unavoidable legacy of the historical record.”
  39. ^ Controversy over use of "CE" and "BCE" to identify dates in history. ReligiousTolerance.com. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
  40. ^ Southern Baptist Convention 2000, Resolution 9
  41. ^ Whitney, Susan, "Altering history? Changes have some asking 'Before what?'" The Deseret News, December 2, 2006. Whitney, for instance, quotes Lori Wentz, who argues that, "Whether or not someone believes in Christ, the culture and politics of his time eventually came together to form our way of keeping historical time...It's 2006 this year for anyone on Earth that is participating in day-to-day world commerce and communication. Two thousand six years since what? Most people know, regardless of their belief system, and aren't offended by a historical fact." http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20061202/ai_n16891064
  42. ^ Rodriguez, Nancy C. and Peter Smith, "Ky. school board to look at replacing A.D., B.C. in dates", The Courier-Journal, April 11, 2006.
  43. ^ Safire, William, "B.C./A.D. or B.C.E. C.E.?", On Language, The New York Times, August 17, 1997, p. SM22
  44. ^ History Today, June 1999, p. 60, Darian Hiles, letter: "Of Dates and Decimals"
  45. ^ The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Retrieved on July 10, 2007.
  46. ^ a b Controversy over the use of "CE" and "BCE" to identify dates in history. Retrieved on July 18, 2007.

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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