diff --git a/lib/sinatra/base.rb b/lib/sinatra/base.rb
index 3885411b..dce5f3d3 100644
--- a/lib/sinatra/base.rb
+++ b/lib/sinatra/base.rb
@@ -930,13 +930,14 @@ module Sinatra
           end
           lines = app.count("\n") + 1
           template = nil
+          force_encoding data, encoding
           data.each_line do |line|
             lines += 1
             if line =~ /^@@\s*(.*\S)\s*$/
               template = force_encoding('', encoding)
               templates[$1.to_sym] = [template, file, lines]
             elsif template
-              template << force_encoding(line, encoding)
+              template << line
             end
           end
         end