What should I do if I want to pursue photography?

Basically, I just want to know: what should I do if I want to pursue photography. I'm 16 years old, homeschooled, and I absolutely love photography. I have a Nikon D5000 which I have with me 95% of the time, and I adore it: D. And I've been thinking more about my future, and I figured out that I want to continue at this and get better at it.So… Should I get an arts degree in photography (is there even such a thing? Is it worth my time?)? Or is there another degree that would help me more in my future, maybe business? Also, I'm a Christian, and it's pretty important to me that I go to a Christian college. And there's very, very few Christian colleges that have a photography program. Do I even need an expensive university to pursue photography?

Don't bother with a degree in photography. Nobody cares about that, so get one in accounting that will teach you a skill you will need whether or not you become a photographer.

Start by learning how to get a properly-composed and exposed image more often than not, then start taking pictures of your friends. Sooner or later someone will ask how much you would charge to take their picture. Meanwhile, go to the local newspaper and ask them if they have any assignments you could take for them. Write the story to go with the pictures and make it back by deadline time.

Well if you are going to go through your whole life limiting yourself to the scant educational offerings of religious institutions, I can't really say I have that much sympathy for your self-inflicted predicament.

Are you also going to limit yourself to taking only pictures of people and objects of your own particular religious persuasion. Where does that all end? Where do you draw the line? Next thing you know, you'll be wanting to learn Photoshop to erase the atheists or suspected pagans from your shots. LOL*

Perhaps you should ask this in the religion and spirituality section if you want some definitive religiously inspired help, or just drop the go-betweens and directly ask the chief deity of your choice. Because it sure doesn't have that much to do with Photography.

The answer to the other part of your question is this: The vast majority of the world's best and most famous photographers never had any university qualifications in photography. However, a business degree would surely help you run any business if that's the route you decided to take.

*Notice what I did there - a straw man and slippery slope fallacy all rolled into one? Isn't that fun when the shoe is on the other foot, so to speak?!