Does Mitt Romney believe in evolution?

The series on the 2012 candidates' beliefs about evolution now moves to the Republican Party.  Several people have already declared their intention to run and a few more might still jump in.  We'll start with Mitt Romney.  The former governor of Massachussetts is currently the favorite in a weak GOP field, and is probably the most serious candidate on that side.  He joined the national scene in 2008 where he eventually lost to John McCain.  (Bonus trivia: McCain believes in evolution).  Romney's religion is well known: he's a Mormon.  So what does he think about evolution? Romney gave an interview in Iowa back in 2007 where he shared his views on the topic. Some relevant quotes follow.

• On whether he believes in evolution: “I believe that God designed the universe and created the universe, and I believe evolution is most likely the process he used to create the human body.”

• On whether he believes in intelligent design:  "I believe God is intelligent and I believe he designed the creation. And I believe he used the process of evolution to create the human body." 

• On teaching evolution in school: “In my opinion, the science class is where to teach evolution, or if there are other scientific thoughts that need to be discussed. If we’re going to talk about more philosophical matters, like why it was created, and was there an intelligent designer behind it, that’s for the religion class or philosophy class or social studies class.”

The only other information I could find from Romney on the topic was a non-answer. At a 2008 debate he did not raise his hand when the candidates were asked if any among them rejected evolution.  So to sum up: Romney appears to be a theistic evolutionist.  He doesn't say that he's an intelligent design advocate, but he is sure to point out that he sees purpose behind it all.  Romney refers to the universe as "creation" but thinks life evolved.  At least he properly differentiates between science and religion and thinks that the two shouldn't be taught together.

So Romney is a mixed bag.  His statements about education are positive and his beliefs about the validity of evolution are better than most of his GOP colleagues.  However, we must be careful with Romney. These quotes are a few years old, and we know he is prone to changing his mind.  If any new information comes out about his stance on these issues, I'll update this post.