Use of the terms "BCE" and "CE" are not indicative of political correctness. Rather they are neutral usage of the Western calandar without usage of the religious terms "BC" and "AD".
These later terms are religious assertions and articles of faith for Christians. "Before Christ, (before the Messiah), and Anno Domini (In the Year of Our Master/Lord) are terms that cannot be used in good faith by non-Christians. (For that matter, Unitarians cannot honestly use "AD".)
At any rate, use of these religious terms in the Middle East is explosive. Use of them is Israel is condecending to Jews and Samaritans.
Of course if you would preffer that people think of "BC" and "AD" as meaningless terms, then that is your right. Still, were I Christian, I would be quite more by a profane utterance of a religious statement, the belief of which is a foundational tenet of my faith.
It is impossible to take religion out of the calendar. We still honor Roman Emperors (worshipped as gods) in our months and our weekdays are named after Norse gods. The Western (Gregorian) calendar was named after POPE Gregory XIII. Western civilization's singular commonality is (or at least was) Christianity.
"neutral usage of the Western calandar"?
Christ's birth is the FOCAL POINT of the Western Calendar, whether or not you are a Christian. The fact remains that BCE and CE are an attempt, largely by the left, to dishonor the one whose birth is reckoned as Year 0. I suspect most Christians don't care whether anyone else uses the terms A.D. and B.C. in "good faith."
If I wanted to go to China and insist on them renaming their calendar system so it doesn't offend MY sensibilities, I would expect someone to tell me to go to hell (and rightfully so!) Likewise, if I were to go to a synagogue in Jerusalem and expect them to make changes to suit MY tastes, I would also expect to be rebuffed. Further, if I were to try to tamper with the calendar in Mecca, being chastised would most likely take the form of the traditional "religion-of-peace" beheading.
We, in the Christian west, do not require that anyone believes in our Savior; we do expect, however, that OUR religious beliefs and traditions should be equally respected regardless of the outsider's belief system.