Welcome to the forums, keith.
As you are asking in the CEH subforum, I assume you are asking in regards of the CEH exam. If so, then no uberspecial knowledge in programming is required in order to pass, though one should be able to read some code and understand some of the basic concepts.

I think you need to at least be able to code in python/ruby in order to be a good pen tester. I just can't see how you can be a good pentester without being able to write your own exploits.

One of the big things IMO that separates a pen tester, who just knows how to run a tool and use automated scans vs a great pen tester is the ability to write your own exploits.

One of the best frameworks for developing exploits currently is metasploit and if you want to write modules for metasploit you must be able to write code in ruby.

Advanced hacking courses like OCSE and CEPT etc devote a large amount of their curriculum to coding. Not simply writing the exploit code but things like fuzzing and learning the nuances of x86 assembly.