Washington (CNN) Sen. Mike Lee reintroduced a controversial bill Thursday that aims to protect religious freedom but which critics argue could lead to discrimination against the LGBTQ community.

The Utah Republican unveiled a new version of the "First Amendment Defense Act," which was initially introduced in 2015 but not taken up by committee in the Republican-controlled Senate at the time.

The bill seeks to protect individuals and institutions from punitive action by the government -- such as revoking tax exempt status or withholding federal grants or benefits -- for believing that marriage is between one man and one woman and for opposing sex outside of marriage.

"What an individual or organization believes about the traditional definition of marriage is not -- and should never be -- a part of the government's decision-making process when distributing licenses, accreditations or grants," Lee said in a statement.

Unlike the 2015 version, however, the bill would also protect those who support any federal legal definition of marriage between two people, including same-sex marriage. So, for example, a pro-same-sex marriage group would be protected against discriminatory efforts from an administration that opposes same-sex marriage.

Read More