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
Freedom of religion in Bulgaria for freedom of religion, and other laws and policies contributed to the generally free practice of religion. The government generally enforces these provisions, and citizens have the right to sue the government for violations of religious freedom. The 2002 Denominations Act allows private religious exercise if members of the religious community are the only persons present, and public religious exercise if the exercise is also open to persons not belonging to the respective religious community. The constitution stipulates that Eastern Orthodox Christianity, represented by the BOC, is the traditional religion. The 2002 Denominations Act designates the Metropolitan of Sofia as