Quote Originally Posted by Zim45
I don't call it anything. I've never used CE or BCE in any paper I've written, nor in any conversation. I think if anything it's arrogant to call the time since the birth of a religious figure the "common" era (making the time before that the....uncommon era? ). At least the AD/BC dating system has an overtly religious basis, rather than a sneakily implied one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Era Wikipedia used to claim that CE and BCE have stood for Christian/Before Christian Era. They seem to have since changed to stating that's just a result of a popular misconception about the meanings of the acronym.


I used to think that when I was younger. Never even thought about what that would mean for the 30 odd years between his death and birth.
Sorry if yoiu took my comment as somewhat agressive. However, they can't exactly change the dating system now as others have mentioned. You're stuck with it being based off something religious whether you like it or not... kinda like wedding rings or clocks.