Many of Israel's founders were staunchly secular.

It was opposed by Turkey's staunchly secular elite, a group that includes the military and has long dominated virtually all walks of Turkish life.

And today the Republic of Turkey is a staunchly secular state and has broadly borrowed politically, socially and culturally from the Western world.

Its nearest rival, the staunchly secular, center-left Republican People's Party, won 19.4 percent, and is expected to become the sole opposition party.

For a while, he said, the staunchly secular government refused to contribute public funds to help renovate churches - almost all of them Roman Catholic - or build recreation facilities.

Tel Aviv is also the heartland of the center-left staunchly secular Labor rank and file, for whom Mr. Rabin remains their most inspiring party symbol.

Upon independence from France in 1960, Madagascar began developing close ties with staunchly secular power the Soviet Union.

Police have not revealed much about the killings, which started in January when a staunchly secular law professor, Muammar Aksoy, was shot and killed on an Ankara street.

Though a staunchly secular party, the Bund took part in the kehillot elections.

It is internationally transient, moving confidently through Manhattan and London and Silicon Valley from its staunchly secular base in northern Tel Aviv.