Ethics specialists
for the corporation suggested that the modern phrases “Common Era”
and “Before Common Era”
should be considered as alternative terms for Anno Domini and Before
Christ.

Many Christians were
understood to be appalled at the idea and a number of the corporation’s most
famous names have promised to ignore the idea.

James Naughtie, the
presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, told the Telegraph: “Nobody has
suggested this to me, and if they do, they will get a pithy answer, which may be
too pithy to share with readers of the Telegraph.”

His fellow Today
presenter, John Humphrys, said he did not see “a problem” with using BC and AD,
as the terms were “clearly understood” by most audiences.

During his Sunday
morning political programme on BBC1, Andrew Marr said that he would also
continue to use the traditional date descriptions.

“I say AD and BC
because that’s what I understand,” he told viewers. “I don’t know what the
‘common era’ is. Why is it the ‘common era’ in 20AD and it wasn’t the ‘common
era’ in 20BC?”

Boris Johnson, the
Mayor of London, who presented a BBC television documentary on the Roman Empire,
described the plan as “puerile, spineless and absurd”.

In his column for the
Telegraph today, he urges readers to complain to the corporation’s most senior
executives and “fight this Beeb drivel now”.

The beginning of the
so-called “common era” is dated from the same point as the Gregorian Christian
calendar, which is now widely used throughout the world, but removes any
explicit reference to the birth of Jesus.

Critics said that as
the secular terminology still uses the birth of Christ as its reference point,
switching to the term “common era” would make little
difference.

However, the terms
have been gaining acceptance within the BBC, with popular programmes including
University Challenge, presented by Jeremy Paxman, and Radio 4’s In Our Time,
hosted by Melvyn Bragg, among those to have used the
phrases.

A statement from the
BBC’s religious and ethics department said: “As the BBC is committed to
impartiality it is appropriate that we use terms that do not offend or alienate
non-Christians. In line with modern practice, BCE/CE (Before Common Era/Common
Era) are used as a religiously neutral alternative to
BC/AD.”

The BBC denied that
it was official policy for producers to adopt the “neutral” terms. A spokeswoman
for the corporation said individual programmes were free to choose which terms
were used.

“Whilst the BBC uses
BC and AD like most people as standard terminology it is also possible for
individuals to use different terminology if they wish to, particularly as it is
now commonly used in historical research,” the spokeswoman
said.

However, prominent
Anglicans, including the former Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, said
the trend represented “the dumbing down of the Christian basis of our culture,
language and history”.

Some religious
education textbooks have already adopted the secular terms. Other organisations
employing the new phrases include the British Library, which notes on its
website: “Years are designated with the letters AD (anno Domini, ‘year of the
Lord’ in Latin); or, for years before that, BC (before
Christ).

“In multi-faith or
non-religious contexts, CE (common era) and BCE (before common era) often
replace AD and BC respectively.”