Political correctness has once again got the nation’s tongues a wagging. Feathers have been ruffled due to a decision to switch the use of Christian terms BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Dimini) in the national history curriculum to the more secular terms BCE (Before Common Era), BP (Before Present) and CE (Common Era).
The decision has fueled a gamut of emotions from members of the church with Reverend Fred Nile airing his frustrations on the move, terming it ‘an absolute disgrace’. “The direction of the national curriculum is almost a Christian cleansing to remove from our history any reference to the role Christianity had in the formation of Australian and still is today,” Reverend Nile said.
But a spokesperson for Minister for Education Adrian Piccoli said Mr Piccoli was unconcerned by the decision, stating that “BCE and CE were commonly used terms”.
This isn’t the first time this year that Aussie history has come under scrutiny. In June, Sydney officials rewrote the history of 1788, removing the term ‘European arrival’ from official documents after a call from Indigenous leaders to refrain from watering down the ‘invasion truth’.
Words by Alena Nickell
Via news.com.au
