Many Christians seem to find the modern academic use of BCE (Before the Common Era) and CE (Common Era) disagreeable. They see it as a "PC" attempt to "de-Christianize" academia in an effort to protect other religious groups from offense. A primary concern is that it seems to indicate scholarship would like to view the present as a "post-Christian era," or want to remove the religious significance of the terms. This is offensive to many. A common argument focuses on the fact that the point of reference is identical, and thus the vorlage of the Christian calendar remains intact, undermining the entire change. While these concerns should not go ignored, most adherents to their position are unaware of the fundamental reasons for the change.
AD (or A.D.) is an abbreviation of the Latin Anno Domini, or "in the year of the Lord." The full phrase is Anno Domini Nostri Iesu Christi, or "in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ." The term always precedes the year (thus "in the year of our Lord 1492," and not "1492 in the year of our Lord"). The term was developed in the sixth century by a monk named Dionysius Exiguus, but it did not receive widespread adoption in Europe until well into the second millennium. Regnal years remained the common foundation of the calendar for some time. Modern scholars, however, recognize Dionysius' calculations were a bit inaccurate. Synchronism of various historical texts indicates Herod the Great died four years prior to Dionysius' calculation of the birth of Christ, moving the birth of Christ at least back to 4 BCE. BC (or B.C.) is an abbreviation for the English Before Christ, based on the Latin Ante Christum.
Contrary to popular opinion, the term CE did not originate among secularists, and it is not new. The term was originated, as far as can be discerned, in the early 17th century by Christians in Europe. The Latin term is Vulgaris Aerae, which is literally "Vulgar Era." "Vulgar" does not mean profane, but rather common, and it refers to the common people. The term originated among the common people to distinguish their calendar from royal calendars, which utilized regnal years. The first use of the English "Common Era" occurs in 1715, in an astronomical text. In 1856 a Rabbi named Morris Jacob Raphell used the CE and BCE abbreviations in his book, Post-Biblical History of the Jews. He also incorporates the term "Christian era."
The modern designations BCE and CE are used primarily to remove denominational preeminence from interfaith dialogue, which is an absolute necessity in today's global community. Its use removes a presumption of Christian foundations from discussions where that presumption is inappropriate or unprofessional. In academia it is only part of a much wider shift away from biased writing. Words like "mankind" and "men" are replaced with "humankind" and "people" by most publishers. Religious biases are also avoided, not in an attempt to suppress any one religion, but in an attempt to cease suppressing other religions. Rather than view our day as "post-Christian," it is usually recognized as multi-faith. Another advantage is facilitation in referring to centuries. Many do not realize that "ninth century AD" literally means "ninth century in the year of our Lord," which is nonsense. CE is correct following a year or a century.
While the reference point upon which BCE and CE are based remains the same, that reference point is erroneous to begin with, and carries absolutely no intrinsic religious significance. Changing the entire calendar system would be an absolutely impossible task, but using denominationally neutral terms is a globally acceptable method of avoiding religious undertones that may create discomfort. It should not be too much to ask of Christians to respect the sensitivities of others. After all, one of the primary arguments against the use of the terms is that doing away with AD and BC is offensive to Christians. We are not the only religious group that merits respect. Maybe it is time to treat others as we wish to be treated.