BCE stands for "Before the Common Era" and is a secular equivalent of BC, which stands for "Before Christ". The Common Era (CE) is a secular equivalent of AD, which stands for "anno Domini" or "in the year of the Lord" in Latin. The use of BCE and CE has become more widespread in the later part of the 20th century, replacing BC/AD in a number of fields, notably science and academia. BCE/CE is preferred by some people because it is religiously neutral and avoids the explicitly Christian origins of BC and AD. However, some people argue that BCE/CE is less religiously inclusive than BC/AD because it elevates the importance of Christs birth to the start of an entirely new "common era". Despite this, both designations are acceptable by the international standard for calendar dates.