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I don't have the answer to that question, but even if they do think someone named Jesus existed around that time, why would they change the calendar?

Don't want them to change their calendar. Didn't say that. Just interested why some American Educators are making this change here. Also, I would like to know what 2005 AD translates to in CE terms.

If you're going to have a common dating system, it has to be something that doesn't reflect a minority religion, worldwide.

Who said we have to have a commom dating system, as long as we have an agreed-upon conversion. Maybe we should get the world to agree on what year it is. I bet other Non-Christian countries do not follow BC-AD or BCE-CE.

You are aware that Christianity is the religion of less than 1/3 of the world's population, right?

Yes. Thanks.

To expect Israel to use BC and AD is to expect way, way too much. Why on Earth should they?

Not expecting them to use it. Don't really care. I already said that I jumped the gun and didn't take notice that Haaretz was the publisher. I just don't expect us to have to conform. Why on Earth should we? To be sensitive?

"Don't want them to change their calendar. Didn't say that. Just interested why some American Educators are making this change here. Also, I would like to know what 2005 AD translates to in CE terms.
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Well, the CE and BCE are gaining in use worldwide, so it makes sense to educate our young folks. Further, not all schoolchildren are Christian. We have lots of Jewish kids in school, too. Moslem, too. Why should they acknowledge the year in Christian terms?

Frankly, it doesn't matter all that much to me, an atheist. I'm happy with either term.

You also asked about other cultures. The Common Era dating is the standard, worldwide, for all financial and scheduling matters. The Jewish year date is used in Israel, and the Islamic year in some Islamic countries. However, whenever they communicate with others for business or political reasons, the BC/BCE dating is used.

The scientific community has also adopted BC/BCE almost universally, again since it deals with international scholars all the time. That's the same reason the metric system is used in the sciences. It's universal.

But, nobody's telling you not to use AD and BC. Who would care? I do advise, however, if you are doing business internationally, that you adopt the conventions. Generally, however, there is no need to use either dating system, since 2005 is assumed to be CE or AD. Only when you're referring to historical dating do these suffixes become necessary.

It's really a non-issue, except academically.