Is the pursuit of pleasure considered a sin in To Kill a Mockingbird?

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, there are only a few characters who believe that the pursuit of pleasure is a sin. In Chapter 5, when Scout asks Miss Maudie if she thinks their neighbor, Arthur (Boo) Radley, is still alive and why he never leaves his house, Miss Maudie responds by explaining to Scout the religious beliefs of the Radley family. According to Miss Maudie, Arthur Radley's father was a "foot-washing...

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, there are only a few characters who believe that the pursuit of pleasure is a sin.

In Chapter 5, when Scout asks Miss Maudie if she thinks their neighbor, Arthur (Boo) Radley, is still alive and why he never leaves his house, Miss Maudie responds by explaining to Scout the religious beliefs of the Radley family. According to Miss Maudie, Arthur Radley's father was a "foot-washing Baptist." Miss Maudie further explains the following to Scout:

Foot-washers believe anything that's pleasure is a sin. Did you know some of 'em came out of the woods one Saturday and passed by this place and told me me and my flowers were going to hell? ... They thought I spent too much time in God's outdoors and not enough time inside the house reading the Bible. (Ch. 5)

Hence, based on Miss Maudie's explanations, we can deduce that one reason why Arthur Radley never leaves his home is because he has been taught to believe that anything he finds pleasure in doing, such as being outside, is a sin.

However, not many characters in the novel agree with the perspective of foot-washing Baptists. Aside from Miss Maudie taking pleasure in gardening, Atticus takes tremendous pleasure in reading and devotes every evening to the activity. He also teaches his children to indulge in activities they take pleasure in such as reading and shooting. Granted, he additionally teaches them to act with moderation. For example, he states that although he would rather see them shooting after tin cans, he knows they will go after birds and allows them to do so as long as they understand that "it is a sin to kill a mockingbird," meaning it is a sin to kill innocent beings (Ch. 10).

Hence, for those of us who agree with Miss Maudie, we can agree that the belief that pursuing pleasure is a sin is an overly-literal interpretation, perhaps even a misinterpretation, of the Bible.