In China, ‘leftover woman’ is a popular derogatory term that refers to women who are unmarried in their late 20s and beyond.

Elsa and Lena are both Catholics.

For Elsa, religion is personal: she feels a strong personal connection to God, prays every day in private, and reads the Bible by herself, but does not go to church nor participate in any institutional religious rituals.

For Lena, religion is communal: she attends church regularly, participates in her church community, and follows religious leaders, but feels a low personal connection to God and does not practice religion in her own time.