Albany, N.Y., May 3, 2005 / 22:00 pm
The decades-old debate over whether the new terms B.C.E. (before common era) and C.E. (common era) should replace the traditional B.C. (before Christ) and A.D. (anno Domini, i.e., “in the year of the Lord”) has once again surfaced.
Educators and historians have introduced the new terms since the 1990s. Some non-Christian scholars agree with the change.
"When Jews or Muslims have to put Christ in the middle of our calendar ... that's difficult for us," said Steven M. Brown, dean of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City.
New York’s public school students are learning the new terms through their textbooks and worksheets, but they are not part of the state's official curriculum, said Education Department spokesman Jonathan Burman.