What is the difference between BC & AD, and BCE & CE?
Until recently dates were placed into one of two groups: BC or AD. All dates that occurred before the birth of Jesus Christ were labeled as BC (meaning Before Christ). For example, 2000 BC refers to the year that occurred 2000 years before Jesus was born. All years that occurred after the birth of Jesus were labeled AD (which stands for the Latin phrase Anno Domini; meaning the year of our Lord – not after death like many people think -) For example 1960 AD refers to the year that occurred 1960 years after the birth of Jesus. Since only 25% of the worlds population is Christian, many people complained about the use of Christian references in the dating system. To make the dating system non-Christian, many people that write history have switched to a new system. Instead of using BC for before Christ, BCE is used (meaning Before Common Era). Instead of using AD for Anno Domini, CE is used (meaning Common Era). The new dating labels do not have Christian references and are made for people
