Criminal justice reforms of the early American Republic stand as an often examined area of research, but one source of explaining these changes is often neglected. By analyzing New England execution sermons preached from 1674 to 1825 several theological and ideological changes can be demonstrated that contributed to the growing rhetoric of reform including opposition to the doctrine of original sin, an expansion of salvation, and growing religious pluralism. These shifts also show the movement from near universal religious support for the public execution ritual to an emerging opposition to this form of punishment. Finally, the ideas of sin and crime were separated, with crime being viewed as deviancy that could be potentially reformed through institutionalization. These religious elements were then used by secular reformers during the first decades of the American Republic to challenge the use of capital punishment and embrace the penitentiary.