MO Legislation Proposed

to Protect B.C. and A.D.

By Jim Day

By proposing to establish ‘B.C.’ (Before Christ) and ‘A.D.’ (Anno Domini or “Year of our Lord)” as the official dating standards of Missouri, Senator John Loudon (R-Chesterfield) wants to preserve and protect traditional religious references found in our dating system.

Worried about a push in recent years by many historians and textbook publishers to change the notations to B.C.E. (Before Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era) as a nod to non-Christians, Senator Loudon recently filed Senate Bill 716 (also filed last year) that would require state and local jurisdictions to use B.C. and A.D. The bill has also been filed as a Constitutional Amendment (SJR 29), which would allow voters to place the dating standards beyond the reach of a judge’s ruling of unconstitutionality.
“As a legislator and a Christian, I am deeply troubled by what I see as a push by some to exclude God from our public institutions and to ignore Christianity’s contribution and influence on western civilization, which is reflected in the Gregorian Calendar we use and in our official dating system,” Loudon said. “I feel compelled to call attention to what I and many perceive as a growing movement to gradually remove Christ from our lives – be it by excluding ‘Merry Christmas’ or references of time.”

Senator Loudon said the new terms have increasingly made their way into public elementary and high school textbooks and other academic publications since they were introduced in the 1990s.

“With more publications changing their dating system, including almanacs, federal agencies and schools and colleges, now is the time to take a stand to safeguard the unmistakable Christian legacy of our calendar and date keeping system,” he said. “My legislation will ensure that our current universally-recognized system is monitored in all publicly-funded jurisdictions from state government to towns and cities to the local school board.”

Today, the Gregorian Calendar, established in 1582 by Pope Gregory VIII and enacted by the British colonies in 1752, is the most widely used calendar in the world. It recognizes the birth of Christ by establishing a year for the beginning of the life of Jesus. Loudon points out the Gregorian Calendar is a ‘Christian’ calendar, with its historical implications too important to ignore.

“Marginalizing or omitting religious references from our date keeping threatens to deny Christianity’s existence, and I have a problem with that,” he said. “While some academics and historians interpret the acronyms as ‘Before Christian Era’ and ‘Christian Era,’ other definitions do not identify the birth of Christ at all by inserting ‘common’ for ‘Christian.’”

At least one other state has addressed this timely issue. In 2006, the Kentucky state school board reversed an earlier decision to add B.C.E. and C.E. terminology following opposition from religious groups and now use only B.C. and A.D. In 2000, the Southern Baptist Convention made an effort to renounce changes to the dating system for Baptist churches. Members cited changes as anti-supernaturalism, religious pluralism and political correctness.

Senator Loudon hopes to encourage Missourians interested in preserving the state’s dating standards to express their views at home, in the workplace, in schools and anywhere the designation is in danger of extinction. He also recommends contacting your state and local officials to make your views known on this important piece of legislation.

If you have questions or comments about these issues or any other topic, please call Senator Loudon’s Capitol office at (573) 751-9763.