Religion gets more negative reactions from people. Yeah, even the very religious react poorly to the word "religion". It's just a matter of attempting to remove bias in some cases.
In most cases it is an acceptable and valid word to use. They are interchangeable.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.