BCE stands for "Before the Common Era." It is a secular and religiously neutral alternative to BC, which means "Before Christ." Both BCE and BC refer to the same time period-years before the traditional estimated birth year of Jesus Christ. BCE is used to denote years before year 1 in the Gregorian calendar, just as BC does

. The term "Common Era" (CE) corresponds to "Anno Domini" (AD) and refers to years from year 1 onward. BCE and CE have gained popularity in academic, scientific, and interfaith contexts because they avoid Christian religious connotations while maintaining the same chronological framework as BC and AD

. In summary:

• BCE = Before Common Era (same as BC)
• CE = Common Era (same as AD)

This system has been in use since at least the early 1700s and is increasingly adopted worldwide for inclusivity and neutrality