diff --git a/src/clj_pebble/core.clj b/src/clj_pebble/core.clj
index 27c359e..944d783 100644
--- a/src/clj_pebble/core.clj
+++ b/src/clj_pebble/core.clj
@@ -57,7 +57,9 @@
 
 (defn- prepare-context-map [context]
   (if context
-    (stringify-keys context)
+    (if (:auto-convert-map-keywords @options)
+      (stringify-keys context)
+      context)
     {}))
 
 (defn- render-template [^String template context]
diff --git a/src/clj_pebble/options.clj b/src/clj_pebble/options.clj
index e300b35..edf3408 100644
--- a/src/clj_pebble/options.clj
+++ b/src/clj_pebble/options.clj
@@ -2,4 +2,5 @@
 
 (defonce options
   (atom
-    {:cache true}))
\ No newline at end of file
+    {:cache                     true
+     :auto-convert-map-keywords true}))
\ No newline at end of file