I don’t agree that 40% believe life has existed in its present form since the beginning of time.
40% reject the argument that random chance caused it all.
“40% reject the argument that random chance caused it all.”
Probably much more than 40% reject the argument that random chance caused it all, as most people who believe that evolution is a well founded theory do not believe that it proceeds through random chance.
Certainly Darwin did not believe so, but pontificated on how natural selection was the actual mechanism.
Like most people, and I suspect the three candidates mentioned, I cannot answer a blunt “Do you believe in evolution?” question.
Define your terms and I’m glad to answer it.
Do organisms change over time and sometimes evolve into other species? It seems very likely.
Is this process completely unguided and random? I don’t believe that it is.
Do I believe in evolution?
Not according to the extremist atheist evolutionists.
Meanwhile, lots of fundamentalists consider me a heretic.
Natural selection is no more random than water flowing downhill rather than up.