On the Relationship between Cultural and Religious Beliefs and the Perception of the Seriousness of Plagiarism among English Postgraduate Students at Iranian Universities

This study examines the level of familiarity with instances of plagiarism among postgraduate students of English language programs at Iranian universities and its relationship with religiosity. The paucity of research on the relationship between culture and religiosity, and plagiarism in Iran justifies this study. Participants included 173 MA and PhD students in English language teaching, English literature, and English translation selected through convenience sampling. The participants voluntarily agreed to respond to the researcher-made questionnaire. The findings showed that the rate of familiarity with various instances of plagiarism among students is high. The two-way analysis of variance showed that religiosity does not make a significant difference in the degree of familiarity and perception of the seriousness of the various instances of plagiarism between male and female students. In addition, the effect of religion on familiarity with plagiarism was not significantly different between MA and PhD students. These findings can have theoretical and practical implications for postgraduate English language learners, academicians, and researchers.