Common Era

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Template:Otheruses4 or CE The Common Era (CE), sometimes known as the Christian Era or Current Era, is the period of measured time beginning with the year 1 until the present. The term is used for a system of reckoning years that is both derived from and chronologically equivalent to the anno Domini (AD) (Latin for "in the year of the Lord") system, but with less overtly religious implications. Although common era was a term first used by some Christians in an age when Christianity was the common religion of the West, it is now a term preferred by some as a religiously neutral alternative, though others criticize it as an unnecessary euphemism or an attempt at political correctness. It has its equivalents in other languages. For example, Chinese uses its literal translation, gōngyuán (公元), for date notation.

1 Chronology and notation
2 Origins
3 Usage
4 Support
5 Opposition
6 Other calendar eras
7 External links

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Chronology and notation

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The calendar practice prompting the coining of the term common era is the system of numbering years from the supposed 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".

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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 Jewish 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.

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Usage

Jewish and Christian scholars have developed the BCE/CE terms for the benefit of cross-cultural dialogue.[1]. Some Islamic scholars and others outside the Judeo-Christian religious traditions have used the system. Some Christians have used the term CE to mean "Christian era." Many non-religious academics in the fields of history, theology, archaeology 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 also prefers Common Era usage, though individual museums are not required to use it.[2] As well, many style guides now prefer or mandate its usage. [3][4][5][6][7] Some style guides for Christian churches even mandate its use; for example, that of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.(pdf)

The usage of the BCE/CE notation is growing in textbooks. It is used by the College Board in its history tests, as well as by the National Geographic Society and the United States Naval Observatory. [8]

The US History Channel uses BCE/CE notation in articles on non-Christian religious topics such as Jerusalem and Judaism [9],[10] and BC/AD in other cases [11].

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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. [12]
It has been largely used by academic and scientific communities for over a century now, and is not a completely unfamiliar dating system. [13]
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. [14]
Going along with the naming of a day as Wednesday does not imply that one worships Odin as a god, anymore than going along with calling a planet Jupiter implies that one actually worships Jupiter as a god, or even considers him a god. However, the very meanings of AD and of BC are such that they imply the acceptance of Jesus as Christ and as Lord. Saying "Today is Wednesday" does not mean that one attributes divinity to Odin. Saying "This is AD 2006" does actually mean "This is the year of the Lord (Jesus), 2006".
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 terminology, since the years are exactly equal, regardless of which terminology is used. No conversion of the numbers is required. Documents with years that do not have AD designation do not need to be changed. (example: 1066 remains 1066 in AD and in CE systems)
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.
It avoids confusion over whether "AD" should come before or after the year. (This is important for the in-house manuals of style of periodicals.)
Stylistic rules which require that AD precede the year are justified by saying that "In the year of our Lord 2005" is correct syntax, and "2005 in the year of our Lord" is incorrect. Such statements belie the claim that AD has lost its religious meaning.
The intensity with which some Christians protest 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".
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" vs "In the year of the Lord, 18th Century" vs "In the 19th century in the year of the Lord")

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Opposition

Changing dates expressed in AD/BC terminology to CE/BCE has given rise to some opposition. Arguments against the common era designation include:

The term "Common era" is viewed as a weak euphemism for Anno Domini. MSN Encarta recognizes the era simply as "Christian (Common) Era: the period after the birth of Jesus Christ" [15] and uses the AD/BC notation in all articles [16].
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.
Some believe that 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.
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, etc. 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.

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Other calendar eras

Template:Main 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 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 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. The current year is 1927.
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.