Common Era

The Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are ways to talk about years. They help us avoid religious references.

We use these terms with the Gregorian or Julian calendar to describe years after or before a special point in history. For example, "2026 CE" means the same as "AD 2026," and "400 BCE" is the same as "400 BC."

Using BCE and CE instead of BC and AD helps people from different backgrounds talk about history together. It makes sharing dates easier and more respectful for everyone, no matter what they believe.

History

In the year 525, a Christian monk named Dionysius Exiguus made a new way to number years. He based it on the year he thought Jesus was born. He called this "Anni Domini", meaning "the years of our Lord." He did this to replace an older system linked to a ruler who treated Christians badly.

Later, people started using the term "Common Era." They created this term so they could avoid using words that referred to Jesus as "Lord." Using "Common Era" instead of older terms made it possible for everyone to use the same dating system without any religious meaning. The words "Common Era" and "Before the Common Era" mean the same as "AD" and "BC" but are used to be more inclusive.

Contemporary usage

Some teachers and experts in subjects like theology, education, archaeology, and history now use the words CE and BCE when talking about years. Even though some people disagree, both old and new ways of talking about years are still used about the same amount.

In Australia, there were stories that schools would start using CE and BCE instead of the older names, but leaders said this wasn’t true. In Canada, a big museum switched back to the older names for most people but still uses CE and BCE when teaching.

The words CE and BCE are often used in Nepal to make dates clearer because their calendar is very close to ours.

In the United Kingdom, some schools started using CE and BCE, but places like the National Trust and English Heritage still use the older names. Some parts of the BBC use the new names, but others do not.

In the United States, more books and tests now use CE and BCE. For example, the World Almanac switched to these names in 2007 after using the older ones for over 100 years. Some schools and groups choose to use the older names instead.

Rationales

The Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are used instead of AD and BC to be more respectful to everyone, no matter what they believe. Many people think this is a good idea because it lets everyone use the same way of counting years.

A former leader of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, said that the Christian calendar is used by people of all faiths because it is easy for everyone to share one way of keeping track of time.

Some people disagree with using CE and BCE. They say that since the numbers are the same as AD and BC, it might still not be fair to people who do not follow Christianity. A writer and priest, Raimon Panikkar, argued that using CE and BCE still uses the Christian way of counting years.

Conventions in style guides

When we write the year using BCE, we put it after the number, just like BC. For example, the year Socrates died is written as 399 BCE, which is the same as 399 BC.

For CE, we also put it after the year number. So the current year, 2026, can be written as 2026 CE or AD 2026 if we need more clarity. Sometimes these letters are written in small capital letters, like "BCE," or with periods, like "C.E."

Similar conventions in other languages

In Germany, Jewish people in Berlin started using words meaning "before the common era" in the 1700s. Some, like Moses Mendelssohn, thought this might make it harder for Jews to fit into German society. Later, in 1938, rules in Nazi Germany also required this way of talking about years.

In Spanish, people often say "a. C." or "a. de C." for dates before the year we call zero. Scholars also use "a. e. c." which means "Before the Common Era."

In Welsh, people can say words that mean either "after Christ" or "Common Era" for years after zero, and only one phrase for years before zero.

Since 1917 in Russia, most people use words meaning "before our era" and "of our era." In churches, older words that refer directly to the birth of Christ are still used.

In Polish, writers and scientists often use "p.n.e." for years before zero and "n.e." for years after. Religious writings sometimes use older words that mention Christ.

In China, after 1912, a new calendar started in Taiwan, but the Western way of counting years was used for international matters. In 1949, mainland China began using the words for "Common Era" in all kinds of writing. This change came to Hong Kong in 1997 and Macau in 1999.

In Czech, people write the year number and then add "n. l." for years after zero and "př. n. l." for years before. Older words that name Christ directly are now seen as old-fashioned.

Croatian uses "pr. Kr." for years before zero and "p. Kr." for years after. Newer ways, "pr. n. e." and "n. e.", have also been introduced.

In Danish, people write "f.v.t." for years before zero and "e.v.t." for years after. They also use "f.Kr." and "e.Kr.", placing these after the year number.

Macedonian uses "п.н.е." for years before zero and "н.е." for years after.

In Estonian, the words "e.m.a." and "m.a.j." are used for years before and after zero, respectively. Older terms "eKr" and "pKr" are also used, always written after the year number.

In Finnish, "eaa." means years before zero and "jaa." means years after. Older terms "eKr" and "jKr" are less common now but still used, also placed after the year number.