Verb meaning "redeemed", but without implying a previous corruption

No one seems to have suggested "elevate"/"elevated" yet. "Elevation" does have some religious connotations, I believe, and the notion of "being elevated [to a higher level]" might capture the notion of heading in the right direction towards a pure(r) state of being.

A nice simple word like improve seems to fit the bill...

Clean (clean up), Cleanse:

Giuliani cleaned up New York City.
Claire cleansed Dennis (of whatever held him back).

Purify is to remove that which debases:

Christ purified his heart, as if he had been born again.

I'd consider homogenize but that's a specific way of dealing with a variation on the theme of corruption.