When did BCE (before common era) and CE (common era) come into use for western historical dating? Growing up I remember only seeing BC/AD in use (regardless of private or public) until I got to highschool (mid 2000s).
As for the reason these dating terms are used, I assume it has to do with secularization, which sort of seems silly because you are still defining the "common era" with the birth of Christ. But this is beside the point.
When did these more secular/pc terms come into use? I am generally curious. Is it recent, or has it been done for a while?
BCE and CE were first used in the early 1700s but this can be traced to an earlier Vulgar era (VE) which derives from the Latin (vulgaris aerae) Vulgus meaning "the common people", Christian Era was also used during the time.
The earliest we see Vulgar era is by Johannes Kepler in 1615. The term Common era sometimes referred to different meanings such as common era of the Jew or common era of Christ
Jews supported CE over AD as AD (In the year of our lord) implies that Jesus in the son of God. CE started becoming popular in the 19th century when Jews and Secularists started using it. CE started to be used by scientists and historians too as a more secular term it also made its way in to schools where you saw it, many Christians still prefer AD and BC as it complies with there beliefs.
The reason why the common era starts at 1 AD is simply for simplicity it would be hard for people to understand it if it was out of sync.