Yeah, I'm one of those people who thinks the only good Disney Star Wars is Rogue One, and I particularly like the fact that it established the idea that it's possible to follow the force like a religion but not be a Jedi. Maybe in times of great pressure you can manifest 1% of a Jedi's power if you are an extremely devoted adherent of that faith, but it's not the same thing as what the Jedi could do at all. So it makes sense that people would be aware of the force, but the idea that there were this sect of wizard warriors who had mastered its use would be unimaginable to them.