... that is not the question here.
In one corner we have:
Cyanogen's mod is a custom firmware, so you would have to re-flash your phone (same as if there was an official update to the Android OS).
In the other corner we have:
Most, if not all, custom firmwares do not actually require rooting, but offer it as an easily-toggled option.
So you can use this mod without rooting, or you could root without modding, or both (or none, as now). That said ... rooting really is no more dangerous or magical than a cheese cutter, one simply needs to know just a little bit about what it's for to wield it safely.