Can you tell me if that religion may aid a person with mental illness?

Sometimes it can: Some research shows that religious people who also participate in church have better mental health. http://tinyurl.com/n5qvbq8 they may handle stress better, have more well-being and hope, be less depressed and anxious, be more socially connected, drink less alcohol, etc. That said, religious ideas may also be incorporated into psychotic thinking, such as feeling intensely guilty or "bad.".

And the opposite: 1 feature of "temporal-lobe personality" (Geschwind syndrome) is hyperreligiosity. Temporal-lobe abnormalities are also implicated in many psych diseases eg schizophrenia. Several of my seizure pts have bizarre personalities & religious ideas including that seizures are demonic possession (quoting the New Testament!). Leads me to wonder if religion & mental illness aren't 2 sides of the same coin.