The Gregorian calendar is the global standard for the measurement of dates. Despite originating in the Western Christian tradition, its use has spread throughout the world and now transcends religious, cultural and linguistic boundaries.
As most people are aware, the Gregorian calendar is based on the supposed birth date of Jesus Christ. Subsequent years count up from this event and are accompanied by either AD or CE, while preceding years count down from it and are accompanied by either BC or BCE.
But what is the difference between AD and CE, or BC and BCE? Do they mean the same thing, and, if so, which should we use? This article provides an overview of these competing systems.
BC and AD
The idea to count years from the birth of Jesus Christ was first proposed in the year 525 by Dionysius Exiguus, a Christian monk. Standardized under the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the system spread throughout Europe and the Christian world during the centuries that followed. AD stands for Anno Domini, Latin for “in the year of the Lord”, while BC stands for “before Christ”.
BCE and CE
CE stands for “common (or current) era”, while BCE stands for “before the common (or current) era”. These abbreviations have a shorter history than BC and AD, although they still date from at least the early 1700s. They have been in frequent use by Jewish academics for more than 100 years, but became more widespread in the later part of the 20th century, replacing BC/AD in a number of fields, notably science and academia.
Why Have Some People Adopted BCE/CE?
An important reason for adopting BCE/CE is religious neutrality. Since the Gregorian calendar has superseded other calendars to become the international standard, members of non-Christian groups may object to the explicitly Christian origins of BC and AD. Particularly problematic is AD (“in the year of the Lord”), and its unavoidable implication that the Lord in question is Jesus Christ.
Religious neutrality was the main rationale behind Jewish academics’ adoption of BCE/CE over a century ago, and continues to be its most widely cited justification. However, others object to the BC/AD system on the basis that it is objectively inaccurate. It is widely accepted that the actual birth of Jesus occurred at least two years before AD 1, and so some argue that explicitly linking years to an erroneous birthdate for Jesus is arbitrary or even misleading. BCE/CE avoids this inaccuracy since it does not explicitly refer to the birth of Jesus, removing some of the baggage associated with our dating system while also acknowledging that the starting point for 1 CE is essentially a convention.
Pushback
The movement towards BCE/CE has not been universally accepted, and BC/AD is still more widely used, even though BCE/CE has been in the mainstream since the 1980s. There have been backlashes to the adoption of the new system in defence of BC/AD, notably in 2002 when the UK National Curriculum made the transition. In 2011, education authorities in Australia were forced to deny that such a change had been planned for national school textbooks amid a similar controversy triggered by media reports.
Passions are usually highest among those who see the adoption of a new system as an attempt to write Jesus Christ out of history. They argue that the entire Gregorian Calendar is Christian in nature anyway, so why should we attempt to obscure that fact? Others ask why such a well-established and functional system should be replaced, arguing that the existence of two competing abbreviations is likely to cause confusion.
It has also been argued that BCE/CE is, in fact, less religiously inclusive than BC/AD. According to some, BCE/CE elevates the importance of Christ’s birth to the start of an entirely new “common era”, while BC/AD is a simple reference to the event.
Current Status and Recommendations
Most style guides do not express a preference for one system, although BC/AD still prevails in most journalistic contexts. Conversely, academic and scientific texts tend to use BCE/CE. Since there are compelling arguments for each system and both are in regular use, we do not recommend one over the other. Given the choice, writers are free to apply their own preference or that of their audience, although they should use their chosen system consistently, meaning BC and CE should not be used together, or vice versa. There are also some typographical conventions to consider:
BC should appear after the numerical year, while AD should appear before it.
1100 BC, AD 1066
BCE and CE should both appear after the numerical year.
1100 BCE, 1066 CE
As is the case with most initialisms, periods may be used after each letter.
1100 B.C., A.D. 1066, 1100 B.C.E., 1066 C.E.
Some style guides recommend writing BC, AD, BCE and CE in small caps.
AD 2017
Of course, writers often don’t need to make the choice at all. The BCE/CE (or BC/AD) distinction is usually unnecessary outside of historical contexts, and it is generally understood that when unspecified, the year in question is CE (or AD). As a result, dates that occurred within the last few centuries are rarely marked with CE (or AD).
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FAQs
BC or Before Christ refers to the number of years before Christ was born. AD or Anno Domini refers to the period after Christ was born. CE means common (or current) era”, while BCE means ”before the common (or current) era”.
Why was BC and AD changed to BCE and CE? ›
Particularly problematic is AD (“in the year of the Lord”), and its unavoidable implication that the Lord in question is Jesus Christ. Religious neutrality was the main rationale behind Jewish academics' adoption of BCE/CE over a century ago, and continues to be its most widely cited justification.
Is CE older than AD? ›
CE stands for “Common Era.” It refers to the same years as AD does, just in a more secular way. The year 2022 CE is the same year as 2022 AD. The Gregorian calendar, which is the dating system we use to measure years today, was created by a pope of the Catholic Church.
What does CE stand for in history? ›
'CE' means Common Era, or Current Era. 'CE' is equivalent to 'AD' as a date and places the 'common' or 'current' era as being from the suggested birth of Christ at 1 AD (e.g. Battle of Hastings was in 1066 CE). But, it removes the explicit claim of Anno Domini which means 'year of our Lord'.
Are we currently in AD? ›
Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the original Anno Domini (AD) and Before Christ (BC) notations used for the same calendar era. The two notation systems are numerically equivalent: "2024 CE" and "AD 2024" each describe the current year; "400 BCE" and "400 BC" are the same year.
When was Jesus actually born? ›
The date of the birth of Jesus is not stated in the gospels or in any historical sources and the evidence is too incomplete to allow for consistent dating. However, most biblical scholars and ancient historians believe that his birth date is around 4 to 6 BC.
What year was Jesus born? ›
Using these methods, most scholars assume a date of birth between 6 and 4 BC, and that Jesus' preaching began around AD 27–29 and lasted one to three years. They calculate the death of Jesus as having taken place between AD 30 and 36.
Why don t we use B.C. and A.D. anymore? ›
The term BC stands for "Before Christ" and AD stands for Anno Domini, Latin for the "Year of Our Lord". Because non-Christians do not consider Jesus to be their "Lord", scholars developed the non-religious term "the Common Era", abbreviated CE. BCE stands for "Before the Common Era."
What does AD mean in the Bible? ›
The terms "A.D." and "B.C." have their roots in Christianity. "A.D." stands for anno domini (Latin for "in the year of the lord"), and it refers specifically to the birth of Jesus Christ. "B.C." stands for "before Christ."
Why did we switch from BC to AD? ›
Q: “Why did we switch from BC to AD?” The responses already given cover your query… we didn't “switch” from BC to AD - there simply was no uniform worldwide calendar system until Anno Domini (The Year of Our Lord) was “invented” - and BC - Before Christ - was invented even later than AD, to refer backwards.
Historians have never included a year zero. This means that between, for example, 1 January 500 BC and 1 January AD 500, there are 999 years: 500 years BC, and 499 years AD preceding 500. In common usage anno Domini 1 is preceded by the year 1 BC, without an intervening year zero.
What year did AD end? ›
BC ended when AD began, although no one knew it at the time since the BC/AD dating convention would not be created until over 500 years had passed from that time. AD hasn't ended yet - we're at the end of 2021 AD currently and there's no indication that the Gregorian calendar system will be eliminated any time soon.
What is the Common Era in the Bible? ›
Meaning of Common Era in English
the period from the birth of Jesus Christ, when the Christian calendar starts counting years as A.D.: Synagogues have been excavated here dating from the first century of the Common Era. See also. C.E. B.C.E.
When did year one begin? ›
This calendar era is based on the traditionally reckoned year of the conception or birth of Jesus, AD counting years from the start of this epoch and BC denoting years before the start of the era. There is no year zero in this scheme; thus the year AD 1 immediately follows the year 1 BC.
When did Christianity start? ›
Beginnings of Christianity
Christianity developed in Judea in the mid-first century CE, based first on the teachings of Jesus and later on the writings and missionary work of Paul of Tarsus. Originally, Christianity was a small, unorganized sect that promised personal salvation after death.
What is year 0 called? ›
Well, actually there is no year 0; the calendar goes straight from 1 BC to 1 AD, complicating the process of calculating years. Most scholars believe that Jesus was born between 6 and 4 BC (Before Christ) and that he died between 30 and 36 AD (Anno Domini, latin for "in the year of the lord").
When did BC and AD change to BCE and CE? ›
The use of the BCE/CE format has been found from manuscripts dating back to 1708, so this system has been in place, to some extent, for several centuries. BCE/CE have been in frequent use by Jewish academics for more than 100 years.
Why did they change AD to CE? ›
CE is “politically correct” or “revisionist.” To be fair, CE (which stands for Common Era) is new. It removes the religious undertones of AD (Anno domini), which means in the year of the Lord (Jesus Christ).
Why did people change BC to BCE? ›
Apparently we don't use BC and AD anymore because it's religious, so in its place we use BCE which stands for Before Common Era, and CE which stands for Common Era. ....
