Honestly, I think Harvard's religious mission is talked about like it's this huge deal, but in my experience, it's not the main thing that shaped US law or government. Sure, Harvard started out way back in 1636 all about training Puritan ministers, so religion was definitely at the core. But when I think about what really drove American law and politics, it's more about Enlightenment ideas and all the debates that happened later.

I've read that Harvard switched to a way more secular approach as time went on, especially when they got into Enlightenment philosophy in the 18th and 19th centuries. So, yeah, they had "In Christi Gloriam" on their seal and all that church stuff, but students and professors eventually started focusing way more on science and new ideas about human rights.

Looking at the US government today, most of our laws are based on English traditions and Enlightenment thinkers, not just Puritan rules. So I'd say Harvard's religious start is interesting but it's kind of overstated when people link it straight to American law. The transformation toward secular education is way more influential on what Harvard grads did for government stuff.