BBC denies ban on reglious terms BC and AD
The BBC’s head of religion and ethics Aaqil Ahmed has denied claims that the corporation has banned the use of religious terms BC and AD, replacing them with secular terms.
Reports last week claimed that the corporation had instructed presenters to use the terms Before Common Era and Common Era, which Ahmed has denied in his own BBC blog.
“The story, suggesting we had dropped AD (Anno Domini) and BC (Before Christ), was quite simply wrong. We have issued no editorial guidelines or instructions to suggest that anyone in the BBC should change the terms they use. The BBC, like most people, use BC and AD as standard terminology,” said Ahmed.
“But we recognise that it is possible to use different terminology, and that some people do: that is what is reflected on our Religion website. Even though we told the newspaper this, they ran the story anyway.
“Just for the record, for our religion and ethics programming on BBC television and radio we generally use AD and BC. It is a shame that people seeking to make mischief should cast a shadow over the wonderful celebration of our Christian religious heritage that is Songs of Praise,” he concluded.