Urgent steps must be taken to help young people become interested in politics so that they engage with the democratic process and are motivated to vote in the general election, a Church of England bishop has said.
Bishop of Stepney Adrian Newman says the Church and the political system are both facing a similar difficulty in attempting to capture the attention of the young.
At the last election 16 million people did not exercise their right to vote. The sharpest decline in turnout has been among those aged 18-24.
"There is now a real urgency to mobilise young people in particular, unless we want to see turnout continue to fall," he says, writing in the Standard newspaper.
He confesses he has three children in their twenties and has witnessed this disengagement for himself.
"Whether it is a dislike for Punch and Judy politics or a feeling that voting doesn't matter, we have a real problem and we have to address it," he says.
He suggests that those trying to persuade the young to use their vote could learn from the experience of the church, in particular the London diocese, where in the decade leading up to 2012 membership grew by almost five per cent and one in five churchgoers was under 15.
"Churches are becoming more confident and creative about how they engage with younger audiences and this is central to the Diocese of London's strategic vision for the rest of the decade, Capital Vision 2020," he says.
While he admits some parts of the Church have not seen the same growth, a million people still go to a Church of England church each week. The Church also has many successful youth projects such as the Intermission Youth Theatre, which helps young people at risk by getting them involved in acting and directing Shakespeare.
Arguing that the Church must exercise its right to engage in politics, he continues: "This strong and growing connection with young people means the Church can and should play a vital role in getting people engaged with politics."
The Church of England bishops were criticised by some politicians after their recent 52-page election letter which called for a "fresh moral vision" in British politics.
The Baptist Union, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church recently researched young people on attitudes to voting and politics.
The churches found that the young care about politics and faith has an impact on how they vote but they have little confidence that their voices are heard or that politicians will deliver change.
A YouGov poll found that of the 3.3 million young people entitled to vote for the first time in the election on 7 May, more than 2 million of them will not be voting.
Andrew Weston, of United Reformed youth, said at the time: "It is a great shame that so many young people lack belief in the political system, fearing that their voices will be ignored."
Rachel Allison, who co-ordinated the survey, said: "There are important questions to be asked about how politicians can engage with a seemingly untapped generation who could have a massive impact on the result of the election and the future of society."
Megan Thomas, Methodist Youth President, said: "Young people are passionate about politics and care about the key issues in our country, but it is important that we have all the facts. When voting we want to know that our voice will be heard and that our vote can make a difference."
At a conference organised in February in Coventry by the joint public issues team of all three churches, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said he will not be voting in the election because of a precedent set by one of his predecessors, although he hinted that this might change in the future.
He said: "At the last election, over-65s were almost twice as likely to vote as 18 to 24 year olds...And that is not healthy. It is not good that any one sector of our society begins to dominate the way in which politics works. That is why voting is so important. It's not just that it is such a privilege to do it, it's not just that so many people around the world can't; it is that it stops society being dominated by sectoral interests. The more people vote, the more just society is likely to be."
