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For more than a century, there was no playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Goshen College — a small Christian college with ties to the Mennonite Church.

That’s about to change. For the first time in the school’s history, Goshen College will play an instrumental version of the U.S. national anthem before many campus sporting events.

The decision to reverse the ban on the anthem is aimed at making students and visitors outside the faith feel more welcome, but it has roiled some at the 1,000-student college who feel the song undermines the church’s pacifist message and puts love for county above love for God.
John Roth, a Goshen College history professor, said Mennonites have historically avoided the song because its lyrics describe using war and military might to defend the country.

“The link between the national anthem and the military identity of the nation is made very explicit,” Roth said.

Mennonites, whose church is rooted in a 16th-century movement in Europe known as Anabaptism, also believe singing a “hymn of allegiance” like the national anthem implies a deeper loyalty to country rather than to God, Roth said. However, Mennonite Church USA — which represents the largest and most mainstream group of Mennonites in the U.S. — does not specifically prohibit the anthem.