How to write a date

[mjlaw]

what is your feeling about using BCE (Before Common, or Christian or Current, Era) and CE rather than BC and AD when writing a date?
I feel like I should be in favour, as both an atheist and somebody who likes to believe they have an inclusive mindset, but the truth is I just don't like them.
I'm quite a fan of BP (Before Present), and kya and mya

Comments

[mjlaw]

but why? BCE/CE is little more than a euphemism. It can't be a real common era as the second largest religion in the world (if you count Christianity as one religion) has a younger year zero than us, and we are now in 1429 AH(I think). We are also now in the year 195 BE to followers of the Bahá'í Faith (about six million people worldwide according to Wikipedia). To my mind a Judaeo-Christian common era is not much of a common era.

Of course if you take the CE to stand for 'Christian Era', then I suppose it doesn't imply a belief in Christ in the same way that Anno Domini does. Still, it doesn't steer away from connotations of European colonial supremacy (granted Christianity isn't a European religion, but the spread of Christianity is intricately linked to a lot of the ugliness of European imperialism). Why should Christianity have the privilege of being the reference point by which we understand the distribution of events through time? (but also, I suppose, why should anything else?)

I suppose I'm suggesting we should start again, perhaps with our arbitrary 'present' of AD1950, which as far as I'm aware has no religious or cultural basis, except perhaps being influenced by the advent of nuclear testing. Of course we couldn't have an 'After Present', or at least not in the past (!). I'm not sure we should start again, but if BC/AD is deemed unacceptable or offensive, then I would argue BCE/CE is little better.

You could of course even go further, and quibble with our retention of the Gregorian calendar. The Persian calendar is meant to be quite accurate I understand.

Anyway, I'm sure there are editors out there who prefer to publish BCE/CE, and I will end up writing it too. I'm just not convinced it actually helps in any way.

Sorry if that comes across as a crazy rant. I'll stop now.

Hope you're well!

[purplexoo]

Hi, Just looking through your Journal!
I find when I have worked with Archaeological dates I have used AD/BC, but when it has been more geographical i.e. palaeoenvironmental it has been BP.
I do prefer BP, although tend to go for AD for recent past.
Hope you don't mind me commenting on this!
Sue

[mjlaw]

Hi! I don't mind at all. thanks for the comment! I tend to agree with your use. I just had a bee in my bonnet that day aboutpeople using BCE. Probably something I read.
Matt