BC/BCE/BP Does It Really Matter?

Recently there has been a lot of fuss in the right wing media about the BBC’s choice to replace the traditional use of BC and AD with the more  modern BCE and CE. According to the Daily Mail and the Telegraph amongst others the switch over is the result of some sort of leftist conspiracy to… well I’m not entirely sure what the motive is meant to be. Something to do with prosecuting Christians, and “political correctness gone mad”. Of course no immigrants actually have a problem with the usage of BC or AD any more than they have a problem with British flags or St George’s Day but this will inevitably lead to some ignorant people saying “If you don’t like our dating systems get out of our country” and similar rubbish. Though strangely enough The Sun has been pretty quiet on this one. Or maybe not strange because it really is a non-story. So what exactly is the BBCs motive in introducing this system?  In academic circles the use of CE and BCE has become more common in recent decades.  The years are equivalent to AD and BC so AD 2011 would be the same as 2011CE. It’s pretty much a more modern way of saying the same thing without the religious connotations. Is it possible that maybe the BBC are just keeping up with modern practice and not part of a massive Marxist lefty conspiracy attempting to bring down the west? Well it makes a lot more sense to me, especilly as a former archaeology student who has witnessed the increase in usage of BCE for myself. Just be glad they aren’t bringing in BP, that’s when things start to get really confusing.

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