Are there any studies that look at one’s place on the derech over a lifespan?
Do a significant # of otd-now people come closer to the derech when they’re older? Perhaps if/when someone is an empty nester?
Or when one is in his or her 70’s, 80’s, 90’s+?
I ask because, at least in my shul, a lot of people become more religious after they retire. Maybe that’s different than one who adamantly went off the derech when he or she was younger, compared to a less observant Jew becoming more observant in time.
Still I wonder if people have a change of heart or thought later on in life. My rabbi said that sometimes having grandchildren really changes a person and he or she starts becoming more religious to connect with his or her grandchild[ren].
Thank you