Missouri senator wants to require using B.C. and A.D.

Worried about a push to take the religious references out of time, a state senator has filed a bill that would mandate the use of B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini or “Year of our Lord”). Many historians and textbook publishers have switched to B.C.E. (Before Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era) as a nod toward non-Christians.

“There is an effort to sort of scrub our public institutions of acknowledgment of God,” said Sen. John Loudon, R-Chesterfield. He said it would be costly to change dating systems - both financially and culturally.

Loudon's bill, which was also filed last year and this year has also been filed as a constitutional amendment, would make B.C. and A.D. the “official dating standard” of Missouri. It would also bar the state and public employees from using any other system in official capacities.

That would also seem to include public schools, which could set up a debate about whether textbooks could be used if they use B.C.E. and C.E.

A spokesman for the Missouri School Boards' Association said the group is uncertain how the measure would be interpreted. Brent Ghan said the requirement would have little affect if it were limited to documents created by school districts. But policing textbooks would be a different story.