Sephardic Jews in the Netherlands of Sephardic Jewry in Amsterdam, the Mahamad also closely controlled the process of re-judaization - that is helping those whose families had been secretly living as Jews while being outwardly Catholic return to a full Jewish life. In this process, several individuals rejected Rabbinic Judaism or advanced ideas outside of the norms of Judaism at that time and were disciplined by the Mahamad through the process of herem, which could be anything from denial of Torah honors to an outright ban on the individual. The most famous of those to receive a full ban herem was philosopher Baruch Spinoza, whose
Religion in the Bahamas Religion in the Bahamas Religion in the Bahamas reflects the country's diversity. Since the English colonization, most Bahamians adhere to diverse Protestant denominations with Anglicanism, Baptist churches, Pentecostalism, Adventism and Methodism being at the forefront. Statistically speaking, major Protestant denominations include Baptists (35 percent), Anglicans (15 percent), Pentecostals (8 percent), Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) (5 percent), Seventh-day Adventists (5 percent), and Methodists (4 percent). Although many unaffiliated Protestant congregations are almost exclusively black, most mainstream churches are integrated racially. There are significant Roman Catholic (14 percent) and Greek Orthodox populations. Smaller Jewish, Baha'i, Jehovah's Witness and Muslim communities also